Cordelia's Dower
by BerylCoronet
Summary: Over two years after Carol Marcus left Starfleet to live on the Augment colony as part of the weapons deal between her father and Khan, the admiral decides to intervene and strike against the superhuman leader, putting his daughter's loyalties to the test and inadvertently drawing the Enterprise into the mix. Sequel to The Arrangement.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: yeah, because if I owned Star Trek, this is how I'd use it. Not mine; it all belongs to some big wigs from Hollywood. And possibly J.J. Abrams.  
Rating: PG-13 of the strong kind  
Warnings: for violence  
Timeline: Star Trek: Into Darkness AU  
Pairing: Khan/Carol Marcus  
A/N: sequel to _The Arrangement _now with more literary references. 

Let it be so; thy truth, then, be thy dower:  
For, by the sacred radiance of the sun,  
The mysteries of Hecate, and the night;  
By all the operation of the orbs  
From whom we do exist, and cease to be;  
Here I disclaim all my paternal care,  
Propinquity and property of blood,  
And as a stranger to my heart and me  
Hold thee, from this, for ever. The barbarous Scythian,  
Or he that makes his generation messes  
To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom  
Be as well neighbour'd, pitied, and relieved,  
As thou my sometime daughter.

William Shakespeare, _King Lear)_

# # #

Carol placed a kiss to the shoulder of the man laying next to her. "I missed you," she murmured.

Khan chuckled softly. "I could tell."

She had been away for five days, exploring the southern continent with Otto and Idir. The trip had been immensely satisfying, as they had found several minerals of value on the galactic market in the Southcap Mountains, which opened splendid prospects for future mining. Khan had already quired her about alien races proficient in that area the members of which might be looking for a new home, in hopes of a deal for settlement once the Federation starbase was gone. Good news never failed to put him in an intimate mood or maybe, hopefully, that had been just her return. As if to confirm her thoughts, he rolled her over, pinning her to the bed with his weight, the intent in his eyes unmistakable.

"You're going to break me in half one day," he joked, tangling her hands into his hair.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked only half-serious.

She stretched her neck to kiss him briefly. "No, I don't want you to ever stop."

The look on his face as he bent over her again was entirely too somber and his eyes soft, devoid of the ferocity she had come to associate with him. His kiss was gentle, savoring. Neither had pretended that they weren't making love or that their time together didn't mean something in a while. Carol recalled his prediction that their relationship would end in tragedy. That was the only thing she now sought to forget in the comfort of his embrace. Closing her eyes, she kissed back with matching tenderness.

# # #

It was the third year of the Federation's war with the Klingon Empire and over two years after the USS Enterprise had found the SS Botany Bay adrift in space and awoke Khan to the 23rd century. Carol Marcus had spent these past two years on the raising Augment colony on the fifth planet, the only one class M, of the Ceti Alpha system, tied to their leader by an initially political marriage becoming more and more real with each passing day. She had started her life there as a prized hostage, an assurance of the good will of the head of Starfleet, her own father, in exchange for desperately needed weapons and tactics supplied by Khan himself.

But lately there had been more than just the cold winds descending from the planet's unforgiving mountains blowing over its vast surface. The Section 31 personnel stationed on the local starbase began to whisper about peace talks in the ever dragging war with the Klingons. In the shadow of those concerns, the colony grew and thrived, new members were born and others were to be added, as some members of the starbase staff formed more than just one for now secret relationships with the Augments who were still single. Better yet, under its coarse exterior, Ceti Alpha V hid unexpected geological and even botanical treasures.

Carol car glided through the Augment city with Khan at the wheel. She was going to the starbase, but he had to make a stop in the colony to untangle a few issues there. When he halted the flying vehicle by the superhumans' central administrative building and made to leave, she put a hand on his forearm and he leaned back without prompting to meet her for a goodbye kiss. They smiled at each other and he stroked her left cheek with the back of his hand.

"I'll see you later," she said as he got out and she climbed onto his seat.

She restarted the car with one last look through the window at him. On her way she passed by Ling walking hand in hand with her son, Joachim. Carol grinned and waved. Aware that she still had time, she stopped the car and opened the window to chat with them. Joachim, the first child born on the new colony, was already one year old.

Life here was nothing she had ever imagined in either her dreams or nightmares, but it was still a far cry from her many fears on her first night on Ceti Alpha V. It had been three weeks after her and Khan's wedding ceremony at the Section 31 London division. The whole affair had had the air of a treaty signing, which she supposed was an apt description for it. Khan had not even looked at her through the entire proceeding, had repeated his would-be vows in a cool, neutral voice and signed when and where directed. He had also expressed no interest in kissing her at the end, an unexpected reprieve in her contemplation of all that she was about to lose.

She had not seen him afterwards until her arrival to the planet that was to belong to the Augments. Today's colony had not existed then; even the starbase had been in its inception. The Augments themselves had been sleeping in the cargo crates of the Botany Bay and that had been where she had spent her first night with them, cuddled in a thermal sleeping bag, surrounded by people who were staring at her as if she were something they wanted to crush under their boots. She had been unable to fall asleep for hours, her terror and uncertainty amplified by the relentless howl of the violent wind rocking the metal carcass around her.

She had woken up to the voices of the Augments making projections about the locations of the new colony. For the longest time she had been ignored, until Khan himself had passed her some rations to eat, the look on his face one of cold resentment. Her thanks had only drawn a snort of derision from him. Even if she hadn't known then the true extent of what her father had subjected him to, she had understood from that to await no clemency from him. She had spent the next days huddled miserably in the antiquated ship watching out for the moment, when he turned on her and tortured her within an inch of her life.

She had felt like a prisoner of a war that had never been fought, though nobody restricted her movements. She was free to wonder the wild mountain valley, where the Augments had speedily started to build a home. It had been mostly likely during those excursions that she had caught a nasty cold that had only caused Khan's contempt to mount, as if she had somehow been guilty for the attack of one of the vicious viruses residing on the planet surface. He had unceremoniously dumped her at the arbase med bay, imperiously demanding that the doctor fixed her.

As soon as the doctor did, she had braved the unyielding veld to return to her keeper. The deal called for her to be Khan's hostage. She would hold up her end of the bargain and not skate the responsibility in the illusory haven of the starbase. Much, much later, during a quiet evening of playing go, Khan admitted to her that he had used every spare minute of those first days remembering her father's threats to his family and the medical experiments performed on him under the admiral's orders and plotting his revenge against her. He also confessed that her timely return after her illness had made an impression on him, unwanted as it had been.

It was the most she had ever heard from him about the beginnings of their interaction, as those memories seemed to be ones neither cared to revisit often.

# # #

Thelev, the Andorian starbase commander, had never overcome his open dislike of the Augments. He was rude and abrasive to Khan, too, which Carol wasn't sure whether this qualified as a death wish or just plain lack of self-preservation. Some of his underlings thought him prejudiced against genetically-engineered beings or even against humans in general, since he treated them equally harshly, but Carol suspected the explanation lay in simple misanthropy. Whatever the case she was always on her guard around him and careful to keep the developments in her relationship with Khan away from his scrutiny.

She wasn't any more eager to face him on the morning after her return from the southern continent, but she had no way around it so when she ran into him in a deserted starbase corridor. So she gave him a tight smile and greeted him with professional politeness. She hadn't noticed the medical dispenser in his hand, as he seemed to just pass her by without a word, but she felt the pinch in the side of her neck and the numbness spread through her limbs instantly. She was aware she was falling to the floor, even as alarm bells rang loudly in her head. She opened her mouth to scream for help, but her tongue felt unnaturally swollen and no sound came out.

It was sheer desperation that send enough adrenaline racing through her system for her to move her hand to pat her one of her pants pockets for her Starfleet Academy class ring. Nobody would question why the once brilliant cadet and later loyal officer never parted with it. Her fingers made it inside the pocket just as her bones resounded with impact with the floor. She scratched at the engraving on the ring, while she tried to use her diminishing force to move her body enough for her fumbling to be mistaken for a seizure.

The last thing she saw before she passed out was the Andorian's increasingly blurry face as he bent over her.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: thank you very much for reading, reviewing, favoriting and subscribing! I appreciate all of your thoughts on my story. Kudos, criticism and commenting of any sort is highly encouraged, as reviews are love.

# # #

Consciousness returned slowly, as her wavering vision caught foggy glimpses of what looked like a ship's medical bay. Panic sliced through her, disturbing her vitals displayed on a screen to her left, but it did served to wake her quickly and fully. She clamped down on the fear for the fate of Augment colony. She needed to be calm in order to rationally divine as much as she could about what was happening and come up with a stratagem for escape.

"Dr. Marcus, how are you feeling?" asked an unfamiliar masculine voice, the words honeyed with a South US drawl.

She blinked staring at the man in the blue uniform of a Starfleet doctor. He looked to be in his early forties, with dark-brown hair and ruggedly handsome features. "Where am I?" she demanded, casting surreptitious glances around her. She was not chained to the bed, the doctor's body language revealed nothing menacing and the two nurses in the sickbay were going about their business without paying any attention to her. Also no guards were in sight.

"You're aboard the USS Enterprise. I am Dr. Leonard McCoy, the Chief Medical Officer. We intercepted your shuttle's distress signal and found you adrift in the Mutara Sector," he explained while scanning her with a tricorder. "You've been drugged with an unknown tranquilizer, but so far you don't seem to suffer from any side effects."

Her mouth went dry, as her apprehension spiked again. "What stardate is it?"

"2260.55," he answered promptly, engrossed into her tricorder readings.

Carol bolted from the biobed only to have the sickbay tilt perilously around her, as her legs gave up from her under her. The doctor caught her before she could hit the floor and was saying something to her, something she could hear. It was the next day. She could have been away for as long as a whole Ceti Alpha V day, thirty-nine hours in total, more than enough for the colony to be turned into rubble and everyone in it to die. She had pledged her help to them, to him, only to be defeated by a tranquilizer shot.

"You don't understand," she said, struggling against the Dr. McCoy, as he yelled for one of the nurses to get him a sedative. "They're in danger. They could all be dead. Please," she begged, fighting against both tears and dread. "I need to speak to the captain."

McCoy held up a hand to stall the approaching nurse and seemed to consider her carefully, his eyes both assessing and concerned. She leaned back on the bed, breathing heavily, her body obviously still weak from the drug she had been given. "I am not mad," she said in a crisply clear voice. She needed to keep a clear head, if she were to convince the senior officers of the Enterprise of the validity of her story. She strongly doubted any records would back her up. But at the same time, she was almost positive they weren't involved in the conspiracy. It was hard to keep secrets on a Constitution class ship with over four hundred Starfleet employees on board.

"Please, I have to speak to the captain now. There are about a hundred people out there who are in desperate need of help," she repeated herself, forcing her voice to stay steady.

The doctor eyed her warily for a moment longer before taking out his communicator. She allowed herself a sigh of relief.

"Jim," McCoy spoke into the device. "You'd better come down here." He cast her another look. "And quick."

# # #

Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the USS Enterprise was less tall in person than she had imagined but every bit as handsome as Christine Chapel had described him in her communiques during her short and ill-fated affair with him. He didn't come to see her alone but accompanied by a Vulcan in Science blue. Mister Spock, his first officer, no doubt. The introductions had been summary and through it all she did her best to appear level-headed and not betray her urgency. She needed them not just to believe her but also to come to the colony's aid.

Kirk told her they had intercepted a heavily scrambled SOS request made in her name and detailing her former Starfleet credentials, while the Enterprise had been on a humanitarian mission in the sector. She had been found alone in the shuttle, which made sense. Despite everything, her father would still not abandon her to whatever fate he had doomed the Augments to.

"We need to go back to Ceti Alpha V. The Augment colony there is either about to be attacked and has already been," she said, aware that they knew at least that the colony existed. "I know you probably don't think much of these people, but we can't let them be murdered in cold-blood."

Both Kirk and the CMO frowned at her, but it was Spock who asked the question. "How do you know that, Dr. Marcus?"

Carol swallowed hard, hesitating only briefly before she spoke again. Even if she had time to lose with the whole story, she knew perfectly well it would make her sound insane, especially since she didn't have a shred of evidence in her favor. She would have to tread carefully. "I've been living there for the past two years. And I haven't been the only human to. There's an entire starbase on the planet dedicated to developing new weapons to be used in the war against the Klingons. I have reasons to believe that my father is currently trying to eradicate all trace of that and might have had the both the starbase and the colony destroyed."

Kirk and McCoy stared at her as if she had just sprouted a second head. The Captain's mouth even fell open in desbelief.

"There is no record of a starbase on Ceti Alpha V," the Vulcan said reasonably, not appearing to be at least bit shocked by her words.

"I supposed there's also no record of a Section 31," she replied smoothly.

"As a matter of fact," Spock began anew only to be silenced by Kirk's holding up a hand.

"Why would the head of Starfleet not only sanction an illegal weapons' base but also try to have all these people killed?" Kirk asked. There was dismay in his voice but enough hesitance to make her realize he was her best bet to be believed.

"Because we were fighting a losing war, Captain, and desperation can lead the best of men to do the worst of things," she said looking him straight in the eye, willing him to understand. "I can also give you some measure of proof in the starbase's frequencies. Maybe they'll respond to being hailed by a Starfleet vessel," she added.

Kirk took a deep, audible breath before turning to his first officer. "Mister Spock, tell Sulu to set a new course. Destination: Ceti Alpha V."

"Are you out of your corn-fed mind?" the medical officer piped in.

"Captain, taking into account our previous experience and the warnings of my counterpart from the alternative time-line, I feel I must advice you against further contact with Khan and his crew," Spock objected.

Carol opened her mouth to plead and explain some more, but Kirk was faster. "I'm not letting any of them on the Enterprise this time. We'll just go and scan to planet to see what's happened. If we come across a humanitarian crisis, we'll beam a heavily armed rescue team and see what we can do. If everything's fine, it'll be just a small detour."

The Vulcan looked about to protest some more but then seemed to think better of it and just left.

Kirk turned to her, his expression one of concern. "What were you doing on that planet, Dr. Marcus?"

"Khan wanted a guarantee that my father won't attempt to double-cross him. He requested me," she explained as neutrally as could manage.

Kirk and the doctor exchanged a look of pure horror. It was the latter who spoke first. "And the admiral agreed?"

She nodded glumly. "Like I said, desperate times."

Kirk took a step closer to her bed. "Are you alright?" he asked kindly.

"I wasn't drugged by the Augments, if that's what you're asking, but by the base commander. I think he was trying to get me out of there, before he went forward with his plans and escaped together with the personnel still loyal to him," she said, harboring no illusions about those whom Thelev had deemed too close to the Augments." She glanced to McCoy. "As for the rest, you may tell him of my physical condition, Doctor."

"I found no signs of physical abuse," McCoy elaborated. "She's not at all malnourished. If anything, she's in excellent shape."

If the circumstances weren't so grim, Carol would have gifted him with a smile. This way she just opted for a simple thank you. Even as she did, something else occurred to her.

"Captain, may I ask if you informed Starfleet about me?"

"I did," Kirk confirmed. "I initially wanted to drop you at a deep space station nearby. We're supposed to be patrolling this sector for Klingon incursions next. There have been several reported in the area."

The bottom of her stomach dropped. A Klingon attack would make for a very convenient cover story. She cleared her throat before speaking again. "Captain, I know this is a lot to ask and I want to apologize in advance for any trouble that might cause, but could you please tell Starfleet you were delayed on your way to the station by a technical matter?"

Kirk studied her closely. "What are you afraid of, Doctor?"

"What we might find on Ceti Alpha V," she replied earnestly.

# # #

Dr. McCoy entertained her with a story about a G-section he had once performed on a Gorn presumably to lift her spirits, while a nurse pumped her full of vitamins and stimulants to rid her body of the last effects of the drug injected into it. Carol had never been aboard the Enterprise before, but being in Christine's former place of work reminded her of how long it had been since she had last laid eyes on her friend. Once pronounced fit to stand on her own again, she excused herself and made a dash for the bridge.

Kirk gave her permission to enter without a second thought seeing as he were busy bickering with his first officer about the captain's intent to lead the away party, should one be needed. From the unconcerned looks of the crew, she had the impression it wasn't an unusual sight. They were, however, interrupted by the Communication Officer's informing them that the alleged starbase on Ceti Alpha V was not responding to their messages on any of the frequencies Carol had provided.

Carol told herself they wouldn't acknowledge the hailing anyway, given their classified status. It wasn't enough of a comforting thought, but she couldn't give into her fear. Fortunately, she had little time to dwell on dark thoughts, as the ship thrust itself towards the Ceti Alpha system at maximum warp. Whether the command team's reasons for it had been, Carol was grateful for their rapid arrival. Her mood plummeted once more, when the ship sensors revealed no human life signs on the surface.

Ultimately the away team comprised of the captain, Mister Spock, herself, Doctor McCoy, in case they came across a medical emergency, and a sizable escort of armed security personnel. On board the ship Lieutenant Uhura had stayed behind to further analyze a series of subspace communiques that looked to be of Klingon origin. The Enterprise shuttle stopped by the location she had given them for the starbase. It was gone, only its charred remains attesting to its former existence. At least, there were no dead bodies to be found in the wrecked structure. The colony was their next target.

For a moment, as she set foot on the ash-covered ground, she thought the symptoms of the drug had made a come back, because her legs nearly collapsed from under her. The once flourishing city was gone, nothing but rubble and blackened metal left in its wake. The valley had been thoroughly bombed, the vegetation still burning with dying fires, the ground scorched. The air smelled profusely of smoke. It was also eerily quiet. Carol had never thought she would miss the yowl of the brutal winds sweeping the planet. She bit her lower lip to keep in the scream threatening to erupt.

Behind her she heard Kirk asking again about life signals. Spock answered in his soft monotone that none human had been identified. Carol felt the burn of tears on her chilled cheeks and before she could restrain herself, she took off running, ignoring the men calling her name. It had been just the other day. Just the other day that she had kissed Khan in her car only to stop a bit later to talk to Ling and her young son. It hadn't been the last time. It couldn't be.

She dropped to her knees and crawled through the ruins of the administrative building, frantically searching through what was left of Khan's office. Scalding metal singed her skin and she cut herself a few times as well, sending the blood flowing from her fingers, but she ignored the pain just as she did with the taste of ashes in her mouth and the acrid smell suffusing her nostrils. Khan would never answer to a Starfleet frequency, but he kept an emergency communicator in a secret compartment in his office. If anyone was still alive, they would answer to that.

Kirk and Dr. McCoy were again calling for her, their voices getting near. It was hot inside the demolished, burnt down compound, and sweat ran down her face, getting into her eyes. She wiped her forehead with her bloody hands, as she used her feet to push one half the broken carcass of Khan's console out of the way. The strong box in the secret compartment was there, contorted beyond recognition. Nothing inside it could still be intact. She kicked it, the scream from before almost making it past her lips.

Someone called for her again and she turned to see Kirk and McCoy staring at her in bewilderment. She licked at her parched lips. "I need a glass of water," she rasped.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: response to reviewer vesna: this story is a direct continuation to The Arrangement.

A/N: title taken from King Lear and includes a reference to Lear's daughter, Cordelia, and the following line: "Let it be so; thy truth, then, be thy dower:"

# # #

The transmitter hidden inside her Starfleet Academy class ring was not bigger than a pepper seed, but it had a wide array of functionalities: it pointed to her location while also allowing her to send a distress signal activated by the manipulation of the inscription on the ring. It self-destructed in water but not before sending one last alarm ringing back to its receiver. If there were any reality to her fragile hopes, then Khan had gotten her first warning right before the drug had knocked her unconscious and managed to evacuate the colony in time. She knew where they were supposed to be in that case and that the Augment leader had means of tracking her return to the planet surface and respond to the destruction of the device by coming after her.

She could, of course, just tell the Enterprise crew where and what to look for, but although she didn't doubt their good intentions and lack of involvement in her father's schemes, it still didn't sit right with her to brief them on the colony's secrets. Kirk and his first officer would still have to file an incident report later and she didn't trust the eyes reading in it at Starfleet Command. Besides, she wasn't Starfleet anymore. She wasn't in any way obligated to report anything to them.

As it was, she found herself inside the Enterprise shuttle holding a small replicated glass of water with shaking, bloody hands. She had wiped her face clean, but she had refused to let the doctor treat her injured fingers until she got this over with. The Enterprise officers were looking at her with various degrees of puzzlement and increasing wariness. Mister Spock in particular had his eyebrows knotted in thought, his reflective stance more of a concern to her than the growing distrust of his captain and the ship's medical officer. Carol pushed them out of her mind as she removed the transmitter from the ring and dropped into water. It began to fizzle, the liquid bouncing against the flimsy transparent walls of the glass then dissolved with a minor explosion that send drops spilling over the edge.

"Doctor Marcus, you can start explaining any time now," Kirk interjected, his patience obviously wearing thin.

"And while you're at it, let me take a look at your hands," the doctor added, an irritated edge to his tone.

"Now we wait," she said absently, letting McCoy run his tricorder over her wounded skin.

Mister Spock tilted his head to the side with the faintest of moves. "What for, Dr. Marcus?"

"A miracle," she whispered.

The first officer seemed about to reply but was interrupted by the chirping of the Captain's communicator.

"Uhura to Shuttle One," came the Communication Officer's disembodied voice.

"Go ahead, Lieutenant."

"Sir, I've finished the analysis of the recent subspace transmissions in the Ceti Alpha system. The fifth planet was raided by a Klingon patrol. They seemed to have had intelligence of a secret Federation weapons installation there."

Carol's head snapped up, her heart leaping into her throat. Dr. McCoy lifted a scowling face from where he was hunched over her, using a regenerator on her damaged hands.

"Did they say how they got the information?" Kirk asked in his communicator.

"Unidentified transmission of coordinates, Captain," Uhura replied, her tone fraught with meaning. A burst of static from the device followed before the woman spoke again. "Sir, we are picking up a shuttle approaching your location."

"More Klingons?" Kirk demanded urgently.

Carol gasped and wrenching her hands from McCoy's light grasp, she rushed outside not waiting for Lieutenant Uhura's response. She knew who it was. Or at least, she hoped she did. The few seconds until the shuttled came into view lasted a small eternity, but when it did, breath almost left her, because it was indeed the starbase shuttle the Augments used to help themselves to. It stopped right in front of her, prompting the two Enterprise security officers standing by their own shuttle to train phaser rifles on the opening door.

"It's alright," Carol told them, not sure whether they would listen to her.

Khan came first strolling purposefully, covered by a cowl and his long, dark overcoat flapping around him. Though his face was fully covered, she would have recognized that posture and the piercing iridescent eyes anywhere. She caught a flicker of emotion in those right before they regained the edge of menace and drifted past her to the armed guards and the Starfleet shuttle in the middle of what used to be his people's new home. She forced herself to stay put, even as a pang of both joyful relief and regret washed over her, but she had no idea how evidence of the personal relationship between them would play under the circumstances.

Kati, who bounced out of the shuttle right after Khan, seemed less concerned, as she made a run for Carol and enveloped her in a bone-crushing hug. "We were so worried," she said, placing special emphasis on the pronoun.

"Easy, Kati," Joaquin protested. "Suffocating her would make poor thanks for her saving our lives."

Her surprise barely had time to register, before Kati let her go and she found herself enveloped into Joaquin's own bear hug. And here she thought he didn't like her.

"And you're going to snap a few of her ribs," Kati countered while trying to pry Carol free of Khan's second in command.

"I'm not made of glass," Carol defended.

She was ignored, as Kati gingerly took her hands into her own, critically examining the wounds that McCoy had not had the time to heal fully. "What happened to you?"

That drew Khan's attention back to her for a few seconds as his gaze swapped over her bloodied hands. He pulled back the protective wrapping from his face, a few loose hair strands tumbling over his visage, just in time for her to see his jaw set in that ominous way she recalled from their morning sparing sessions. He turned a suspicious glare towards the trio of the Enterprise commanding officers descending from their own shuttle. Kirk and Spock glared right back at him, while the doctor moved to Carol's side to finish treating the harmless scratches everyone seemed to obsess about.

The sight of the Enterprise crew didn't seem to catch Khan off guard. Whether it was because he had heard their approach over his monitoring of local subspace chatter or because of his ability to disguise his emotions very well when needed, Carol didn't know. Khan took several measured steps towards Kirk, Joaquin instantly leaving her with Kati and McCoy to surreptitiously move to stand at his commander's side. Khan didn't look like he needed the back-up. He inclined his head slightly to salute the captain of the Enterprise.

"Captain," he said, his voice soft, the subdued derision in his tone making it sound almost pitying. Leave it to Khan to make an insult sound both blatant and subtle.

"Me? Forget about me. I'm fine. Is everyone on the colony alright?" Carol wanted to know, her worries reawakening on the footsteps of her annoyance with all the needless fussing over her. She knew they meant well and appreciated that, but there were more important things to focus on at present.

"Everyone's safe and sound," Kati finally said. "We've evacuated the colony as soon as we got the distress call from your transmitter."

Carol briefly closed her eyes in relief. "What about the starbase personnel? I can't imagine Thelev took too many with him."

Kati pursed her lips, an expression of disgust crossing her face. "Actually, he didn't take anyone, when he vanished off the planet. Luckily for them, Khan and Mai stayed behind after the evacuation and got them to safety just in the nick of time. By the way, if you see that Andorian bastard, tell him to make funeral arrangements."

The good doctor narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't know about you, sweetheart, but in my time we have something called a fair trial."

"Oh, don't worry, we aren't going to kill him quickly, either," Kati said sweetly.

# # #

The situation was a tad ludicrous. Dire, but ludicrous nonetheless. Kirk, his faithful first officer, herself and Khan had stepped aside from the crowded space between the two shuttles, but neither side seemed inclined to go in the other's craft and concede home territory advantage. No building in the colony still stood for them to have this conversation inside. So they faced each other in the midst of the devastation around them with Carol uncertain with whom to stand, trying to occupy a neutral side position.

The tension in the air was palpable. Kirk and Khan stared at each other as if any moment now one of them would pull out a glove and challenge the other to a duel. Even Mister Spock's stance was unusually threatening for a Vulcan, a dare encapsulated in the way he held his chin high. Khan was making full use of his ability to stay perfectly collected under the worst of pressure. Whatever his thoughts were about the destruction of the colony, they were absent from his features that were both assessing and disdainfully commanding. In fact, he didn't even look at the ruins, opting to keep his eyes on the Starfleet officers, even as Carol had noted the sorrow written so plainly on Kati and Joaquin's faces.

Carol herself couldn't quite mourn the loss of two years of hard work and dedication, instead drawing in the stifling gratitude that nobody had been hurt. He was fine. They were all fine. And her father had, despite his intentions, less blood on his hands. Deep down inside she knew it wasn't over. Far from it. The next round was coming. But for now she just wanted to get through this. Preferably without a brawl.

While Kirk and Khan appeared determined not to abandon their staring contest, Mister Spock was the first to break the silence. "So you want us to believe that Admiral Marcus would commit treason and leak classified information to the Klingons for the sole purpose of eliminating you and your people?"

"He wanted to eliminate the proof of how far he is willing to go to win this war, the truth beneath all those comforting lies you tell yourselves about equality, paradise and peace, while you're surrounded by well-armed enemies with much less qualms," Khan replied, every word a sharpened arrow that never failed to reach its target. "You can listen to the testimonies of the starbase personnel that the head of Starfleet left here to die with us, lest there'll be witnesses. Or you can just ask his daughter," he added cocking his head in Carol's direction.

Kirk took a step towards her. "I plan to," he said sternly. "In fact, she is coming with us back to Earth to help us clear this matter."

Khan inclined his torso forward even if his body didn't otherwise move. "No, she's not, Kirk. I stroke a bargain with her father and intend to hold him to it."

"We cannot allow you to keep a Federation citizen prisoner," Spock intervened. "We will use force to liberate her if necessary."

"He's not keeping me prisoner," Carol snapped. "And if you want to take me off this planet, you'll have to kidnap me first."

Kirk moved even closer to her. From the corner of her eye Carol surveyed Khan, who had not budged and was regarding the entire spectacle as if it amused him. Maybe it did. But the tension was unmistakable and could escalate into a fight any minute. She regretted bringing the Enterprise of all ships into this, but truly she had had no other choice.

"Carol," Kirk said gently. "You're safe now... ."

"No, she is not," Khan interjected venomously, though his voice stayed soft and even. "And neither are any of you. You think Admiral Marcus will allow you to reach Earth carrying any comprising evidence against him?"

Carol looked away, not facing any of the men. He was right, but despite that, his words were still sharp shards of glass that cut deep.

"But should you reach your destination intact, I would like to convey a message to your superiors: they have yet to see the real damage I can cause. If any of them ever tries to kill my family again, the even darker secrets I can prove shall be the least of their concern."

"Surely even you realize you cannot have any hope to win a one-man war against the entire Starfleet," Spock said reasonably.

She could hear the smile in Khan's voice. "No, but I can shatter your precious illusion of safety and then watch as you sacrifice every one of your other ideals to regain it. I don't have to destroy your paradise, because you'll do it for me, once you start being afraid. And should anyone question my resolve, I will demonstrate it by killing Admiral Marcus' daughter."

In her mind's eye she saw him dart of her before he did but knew from experience she didn't have a prayer of stopping him. Before Kirk or Spock had time to train phasers on him, Khan had her by her throat and in front of his body so that they couldn't shoot at him without hitting her. He wasn't armed but he didn't need a weapon to quickly and efficiently snap her neck and the two officers seemed to be aware of that, if the worried glance they exchanged was any indication. However, his grip was light for his strength but she had no doubt it looked convincing, even as his thumb, hidden by her hair at the back of her head, stroked reassuringly against the skin of her nape.

As if on cue the Enterprise security detail also trained phasers on Kati and Joaquin by the shuttle. The two held their position and Carol grew concerned for the chances of the officers, should a mellee ensue. But no violent confrontation was forthcoming. Kirk's communicator went off, breaking the split second of silence.

"Answer it, Captain," Khan said in a patronizing tone of voice, even as Spock frowned deeper. "We are not in a hurry."

Kirk exchanged another glance with his first officer before he did. The voice on the other side belonged to a man. "Am I interrupting, Captain?"

Kirk shot an exasperated look around. "No, go right ahead, Mr. Sulu."

"Sir, I am getting a strange reading. There's a ship approaching. At warp."

Khan relaxed his grasp onher completely. "How apt," he said his voice coming off lower than usual. "The Vengeance."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: thank you for reading and reviewing! Your insights and ideas help me develop the characters and keeping their reactions believable. Kudos, criticism and commenting of any sort is again highly encouraged, as reviews are love.

# # #

Since Khan released her, Carol could turn her head to look him in the eye, her apprehension raising once again. "You don't think that... ?"

"We both know who it is, Carol," he chided, yet his eyes were regarding her compassionately. It infuriated her. He shouldn't feel compassion for her, when her own father had tried to kill him and his family and was now speeding their way to make sure there had been no survivors. But it was not the time to dwell on her only living parent's failings. Her father wasn't the head of Starfleet for no reason. He left nothing to chance.

"Anything you two care to share with the rest of us?" Kirk jumped in, putting his communicator away. The Enterprise navigator had not recognized the configuration of the approaching ship.

"He didn't register her officially," Carol concluded, drawing a brief snort from Khan. "He must've used her only for classified missions."

Kirk and Spock exchanged more confused looks. "You do not believe the ship approaching us to be Klingon?" Spock said.

Carol shook her head. "It's not exactly Starfleet, either. My father... ." She paused glancing at Khan again. "We have been developing a new type of ship. A war vessel. She has two times the speed and the size of Constitution-class. You can't outrun her, either. Not even warp. And as much as it pains me to say it, my father wouldn't be happy to find out an entire starship might now know what happened on this planet."

Kirk's eyes darkened, as determination warred with concern on his face. Finally he put his phaser away, gesturing to Spock to do the same, and stepped closer to Khan, his gaze meeting the Augment's head-on. "You're not the only one who can make threats, Khan. If you even try to betray us, I'll do anything in my power to make sure you'll spend the rest of your life paying for it, but right now I need your help."

Surprisingly enough Khan broke the staring match first to gaze at her curtly. Carol frowned slightly not knowing what he was searching for in her expression.

"You can't win in a battle with the Dreadnought prototype. Your weapons would be useless against its shields. But there is another option. The ocean on this continent has a unique mineral composition that emits a radiation capable of distorting every Starfleet sensor we tested it against."

Spock's right eyebrow went higher than it should have been physically possible. "Captain, I must object. Subjecting the Enterprise to an unknown chemical composition is a considerable risk. Furthermore, I find it very improbable that Admiral Marcus will open fire on another Starfleett vessel."

Khan rolled his eyes, while Kirk sighed heavily. "Not now, Spock," the Captain said. "Return to the Enterprise. Have Sulu maneuver her to the deepest pit of that ocean you can find."

"What about you, Captain?" the first officer wanted to know.

Kirk stared at Khan again. "I'm going with him to wherever he stashed that starbase's personnel. I want to talk to them personally." His crystal-clear blue eyes, aged before their time by concern, war and responsibility, sought Carol's. "And I'm not leaving her alone with him for one minute more."

Carol was moved by his care, unnecessary as it was, but above all, she was worried about Khan's reaction. The Augment's brows furrowed a little, his features heralding a challenge but no fury. "It appears everything is settled then," Khan said coolly, his expression shifting to mild satisfaction as he glanced at Spock. "Now shall we begin?"

# # #

Once more overriding Spock's objections, Kirk sent the security team back with the shuttle to the Enterprise. Though going only by Starfleet regulations the first officer was right, the captain had a point in that that no amount of armed escorts would make difference when surrounded by Augments. He did take the doctor along, for which Carol felt grateful, regardless of Kirk's reasons, because even if the superhumans themselves required no medical attention, she thought it wouldn't hurt to have a 23rd century Starfleet medic take a look at how their children fared under the circumstances. Though the Augments had an above average awareness of first-help and excellent knowledge of anatomy, only McPherson had any medical training per se and even that was three hundred years old. The man had done his best to update his skills, but in an experience-based profession such as medicine, even an Augment could only do so much.

Kirk informed his Chief Engineer, a certain Scotty, of the plan to hide the Enterprise under the Ocean of Dust himself, once they took off in the Augments' shuttle. Scotty took it less than well.

"Are ye mad?" a heavily accented voice blasted from the communicator of the captain of the Enterprise. Carol had a feeling Kirk got that a lot. "Hidin' a starship on the bottom of an ocean made of substances we don't even know? Ye have any idea how bloody ridiculous that is?"

"Mr. Scott, there's an unidentified ship coming right at us and we need a place to lay low, until we figure it out who's in it and what they want. Spock's aboard by now and will have Sulu maneuver the Enterprise into position."

"Aye," answered the engineer, discontent still resounding in his voice. "But where are we supposed to go? Sensors are pickin' up a really big ocean."

It was Khan who replied. "There's a chasm directly across the mountain chain bordering the ocean on the North-East. According to our measurements, its walls are made entirely of the mineral causing the radiation capable of disturbing the scanners. I will be transmitting the exact coordinates."

"I don't know who you are, but that's the craziest part of it all."

Carol studied Khan from the corner of her eye but caught no discernible reaction to the insult. On the contrary, he calmly gave Kirk the coordinates he mentioned.

"Just listen to us, Scotty," Kirk said into his communicator. "It's gonna be alright."

"Aye, Sir," Scotty agreed reluctantly.

Kirk signed off and spared a look at the Morningstar Mountains raising before them. They stretched between the ocean and the vast northern plateau, their bowels rich with the geological oddity that sent even the finely-tuned equipment the Augments had appropriated from Section 31 haywire. The captain appeared to be deep in thought.

"Oh good, these don't look like the stuff of nightmares at all," the doctor grumbled, breaking the oppressive silence in the shuttle. He lowered his voice before his next words, but his question to the captain was still audible. "Are we seriously doing this, Jim?"

"Bones," Kirk chastened softly, as the shuttle's controls began to give whining sounds of strain. Joaquin, who was piloting, hovered over his console protectively, as the craft descended into a dark, jagged opening on the side of one of the mountain peaks. Kirk frowned at the communicator in his right hand. "How is this thing going to affect our communications?" he asked, looking at Carol dubiously.

Carol couldn't be sure whether he suspected her of Stockholm syndrome or just didn't trust her but either way didn't blame him. She had unwittingly put his ship and her crew at risk and she recognized that in context her behavior came across as all kinds of suspicious. On the other had, she truly had no answer for him. She and Khan had been the ones to discover the anomaly in the mineral composition of the water in the Ocean of Dust after their first trip there on a day that had proved to be fateful for more than just that reason and subsequent investigations had only revealed more amazing facts about the planet's geology, but even so they had lacked both the devices and the time to get to the bottom of their findings. Khan was very practical and she was an expert in weaponry so using their discovery for strategic purposes had come easier and more naturally to them than any theoretical investigation. Either way, she doubted that a large team of scientists with the benefit of Starfleet's best technology could come to terms with this planet's many mysteries, lest they had decades to spare.

"Unclear, Captain," she told him truthfully, the title out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She forced the pang out of her thoughts, repeating the mantra that had been at the back of her mind ever since she had woken up on board the Enterprise: she was not Starfleet. Not anymore.

"More good news then," Doctor McCoy quipped, while eying the uneven rock walls and the giant stalactites and stalagmites the shuttle was sneaking through. The insides of the mountain looked like polished graphite in the shuttle lights, but the farther they advanced, the more they saw of the looping streaks of what looked like glowing iridium. But it wasn't iridium. Though it could be broken down to several known elements, the rock contained what could be a whole new one, if its characteristics didn't completely baffle any instrument she had leveled at it. The mineral for lack of a better term had some of the strangest properties she had ever encountered and that was saying a lot, considering her expertise.

"This is why the Enterprise scanners picked no human life signs on the planet," Kirk mused out loud. "Because you were hiding here, in these caves." Though the window his eyes perused the gleaming rock as the arrived at a busy underground plateau. Joaquin landed the craft of one of its edges.

Kirk sprang to his feet first, looking at Carol again. She wondered if he was trying to further assess her mental state or attempting to establish a connection of some sorts in hopes of breaking her out of whatever mental condition he suspected her of having undergone. She could have to be careful about how she related to him. Khan stroke her as being possessive if not necessarily the jealous type and she didn't want to end up being one more source of tension between the two men, who seemed destined to keep colliding in some way or the other.

"What kind of mineral is this, anyway?" Kirk asked as they were disembarking.

"Hardy to say," she answered, talking in that fast manner she tended to use whenever the topic fascinated her. "It's not abiogenic. Not entirely, anyway. It has high levels of carbon and from some of its properties, we could almost classify it as a new element, if we wrote a whole new table just for it, of course. I can only begin to speculate about it, because it's nearly impossible to calibrate any instrument to get an accurate read on it. The distortion is especially strong here. Either the crystalline structure of the mountain or the life forms inside it could be increasing the effects the radiation has on any kind of scanner."

The doctor suddenly appeared at her side. "You're telling us that there's something alive in these rocks?" he said gesturing to the wide, natured-sculptured hall around them. It had a weird kind of beauty, the walls glimmering faintly silver, ornate formations standing on its margins pointing to the arched ceiling. On the other side a tiny water spring snaked along a crack in the massive stone and disappeared into the narrow tunnel lit only by the glow of the exotic mineral.

"Yes," Carol replied to the Enterprise CMO. "There is a harmless viral life form co-existing in symbiosis with an animal similar to the spiny eels from Earth, but these ones don't live in water. In fact, they breathe carbon dioxide, which is lucky, seeing as the open spaces in the caves are saturated with oxygen for some reason. If they weren't, the eels would come out and they can be quite aggressive."

Both Kirk and McCoy stared in open-mouthed horror at the hiding place the Augments had arranged for themselves in the grotto. The modifications were minimal, though they had moved the most of the now dismantled Botany Bay in there to make for a more appropriate refuge. Aside from the metal skeleton of the ship, the cave floor was littered with thermal sleeping bags and crates of the various supplies necessary for long-term survival. Thankfully most of the cave system's rich water sources was potable so that had been one less thing to worry about. For all its strategic advantages, though, the underground shelter could only function as a last recourse in case of an emergency, especially considering the children recently born to the Augments. There was no natural light safe for the psychologically jarring luminescence of the mineral and the energy options were severely limited.

"Bones, see if anyone needs any medical attention," Kirk said softly, no doubt finding the imagine of the refugee colony trapped underneath a literal mountain crawling with hostile life forms sobering.

Carol took in the picture before her as well. She had helped set up this half-natural, half man-made bunker all the while hoping it would never be needed, though secretly knowing better. None of that offered any comfort now.

"Kirk," came Khan's level voice from behind them. The captain's head snapped to look at the superhuman leader, his eyes much less hardened than before. Carol refused to face Khan herself, fearing the condemnation she would see in his face as much as the lack of it. "We've managed to modify some of the shuttle's instruments to work inside this cave. We can track the Vengeance from there," Khan explained before his heavy departing steps resounded on the rock.

Kirk hesitated before following him, his questing eyes seeking hers. "Are you coming?" he asked her.

Carol shook her head no. She knew she should and she would eventually, but first she needed to see that these people her father had cost everything were all right. She needed to tell them something, even if she had no clue what that was. "Not now. There's something I have to do first," she replied.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: thank you for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying this story.

Answer to A person: Kirk/Carol is canon in the TOS world so I thought I'd include hints of it here as well. :)

# # #

Carol found Ling by the far end end of the cave keeping vigil over her son peacefully sleeping in a thermal bag nestled among supply crates. The Augment was still as a statue, her features marred by pain as she gazed upon her child. However, her eyes did light up when Carol tiptoed closer to her, careful not to make noise lest she disturbed little Joachim's slumber. Ling drew back and farther away form him but not enough so that she couldn't still have a clear view of his face then sat with her back resting against one of the crates. Carol knelt besides her.

"How is he?" Carol asked and was surprised to hear her voice almost crack with the question. The boy looked so vulnerable, so small in the large sleeping bag tailored for the necessity of an adult.

"Frightened, but fortunately he doesn't understand much of what's going on around him," Ling answered her eyes still fixed on her child. "It was nice, you know... having a home, even if it didn't last."

Carol's heart sank. "You'll get your home back," she promised. "As soon as this is over, you'll rebuild the colony."

Ling craned her neck to look at her again. "It will never be over, Carol. Your kind created us in the most literal sense of the word to be tools, remorseless soldiers that will bring an end to all wars or at least, save the real humans from shedding their blood in them. But regardless of how well you try to train a tiger, there's always a chance it'll end up eating you at some point. We pushed against you, you pushed back and ultimately won." She paused wiping at the tears leaking from her eyes. "Earth was always yours. We didn't just run to space; we went in search of a new home. We woke up too late, though. You're already here and there's nowhere to go anymore."

Carol reached and squeezed the other woman's hand before speaking herself. "The good news about space, Ling, is that it's endless. There's enough of it for us to avoid each other for all eternity, if need be."

Ling shook her head. "We both know it's not that easy, Carol. The weapons Khan built for your Starfleet proved once again that we're too dangerous of a tool to have around. This can only end when either you or we are destroyed. There's no sharing anything, not even the endlessness of space, for our two kinds."

Carol pursed her lips, tears of anger and hopelessness threatening spill yet she held them in. She looked at Joachim, so small and so vulnerable in the thermal bag designed for adults. No inspiring speech about the nobility of the Federation or the principle of finding common ground would protect him or soothe his mother's fears. She slowly got up, a new resolve fueling her. "This chapter of our history won't end in a bloodbath. You'll see."

Ling grabbed her wrist. Carol turned to meet the other woman's eyes once more.

"I believe you," Ling said, stressing the last word. "But don't make promises you can't keep."

# # #

Khan was studying the display of one of the shuttle consoles, his expression blank. Kirk was nowhere to seen.

"Where's the captain?" Carol asked when he gave no sign of acknowledging her presence.

If he was surprised by her question, he hid well, his eyes sizing her up curiously when he turned to face her. "He went to question the former starbase's personnel."

She nodded and tottered over to take a look at his screen. "She's still here, isn't she?"

Khan inclined his head in confirmation, though realistically she expected nothing less. "The Vengeance is hovering just outside the planet's atmosphere. By now Admiral Marcus knows there were no dead bodies in either the ruins of the colony or in those of the starbase and that he needs a better smokescreen than a Klingon attack to eliminate us. And he won't leave until he does."

His calm statement of facts left her feeling chilled. She had avoided discussing her father with him, not because she had wanted to preserve any secrets, but in the light of her recent discoveries about the man, the topic had been simply too painful for her to mention. Still Khan possessed an excellent tactical understanding of her father.

"Carol," Khan said suddenly, his expression startlingly conflicted. "Earlier when I told Kirk and Spock... ."

She shook her head and interrupted him. "There is nothing you would not do for the people you hold most dear. You've told me that much."

His eyes widened and he came so close to her that their bodies brushed against each other. Still his hand, when he raised it to her face, was hesitant, as uncertainty colored his face. He had never acted like this before. His touch had always been so sure, at times even proprietary. Just because they had both known that this had been a long time coming, it didn't make the moment any less difficult. However, she could have never even begun to guess his next words and when he delivered them, they sliced through her in a way none of his past cruelties did.

"You are dear to me as well," he whispered, voice husky.

She met him halfway, wrapping her own hand around his and lifting it to her lips. She placed a light kiss on the back of it, never breaking eye-contact as she did. "No," she said vehemently, letting go of his fingers. "Stop! You can't protect us both. Right now the only person standing between my father and his killing your entire family is me. You asked for me, because he once used them to control you. If you want to save them now, you'll have to return the favor. But there's something I need you to promise me first."

He pressed his lips tightly together, the hesitancy draining from his features. "Are you asking me to trust your justice? Why? You know he had help in this. There would be a lot of people interested in a cover-up."

"That's just something Starfleet and the Federation will have to sort out internally. I don't think you care much beyond getting a new deal guaranteeing they'll leave you and your people alone. I told you: I know the system. They would want to keep any legal proceedings ensuing from the head of Starfleet committing treason and trying to kill defenseless people classified, because the scandal would be the last thing needed in a time of war. And you can threaten to reveal every sordid little detail and no one would be able to get rid of you anymore, because now, with the Enterprise here too many people know, but they'll desperately want to keep you quiet."

In such close proximity the flecks of gold in his eyes seemed to shine even brighter. A tiny smile pulled at his pale pink lips. "Yet you are terrible at both go and chess." There was no sarcasm attached to that sentence, just a tinge of pride.

"Playing games is not exactly my style," she said somberly.

He cocked his head to the side, appearing to be considering her carefully. "No, you're not," he conceded. "You do realize that your own father will lose everything?"

She swallowed hard, staring at a point somewhere over his left shoulder. "There's no death penalty on Earth. He'll spend the rest of his life in a penal colony, but at least, he won't be able to harm anyone anymore."

He gently gripped her chin to get her to look at him again. His gaze was so intense that she swore it could singe her skin, as it caressed the planes of her face. "I won't lay a finger on him. The Enterprise can take him back to Earth, once everything is said and done."

With that he wrapped a confident arm around her waist and pressed her against him then leaned to steal a quick, hard kiss.

"Now do you think you can tell me of your plan?" she asked a little breathlessly, as soon as he broke the kiss. Her lips were tingling and she yearned to dive in for another one, but she forced herself to stay put. The relief at seeing him alive and the stress of the day were clouding her mind and she wanted nothing more than to seek the comfort and familiarity of his arms. It was not the time to stagger, though. Regretfully she unwrapped herself from his embrace.

"How do you know I already have one?"

"Because you always have one. And a back-up. And several others, in case those two fail."

His brows knotted in a slight frown and he shook his head lightly. Despite her confusion, she obeyed his signal standing perfectly still and straining to listen intently. "What?" she mouthed.

"Kirk," he murmured in reply.

She nodded in understanding and they both waited quietly for the space of minute, but the Enterprise captain didn't come in.

"Do you think he heard us?" she asked once he gestured that they could talk freely again.

"He heard something," he muttered.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: my deepest thanks for reading and reviewing! You guys are the best and I'm happy this story brings you so much joy! Please let me know what you think of this chapter as well.

Some lines of dialogue in this chapter are taken with modifications from the _Star Trek Into Darkness_ movie. No copyright infringement is intended!

"Only the winners decide what were war crimes" is a quote from American journalist, Gary Wills.

_# # #_

The Morningstar Mountains were higher than those bordering the former Augment colony. The air amid the barren rock crenels was therefore even more rarefied and despite the boost the stimulants Dr. McCoy had given her back in the Enterprise sickbay, Carol was soon struggling for breath. Her lungs burnt, but she pushed through, knowing that it was imperative that she got as far away from the cave entrance that had brought her to the surface as possible. The descent was not easy, even her climbing boots having difficulty finding purchase on the uneven, wind-ravaged stone.

The unforgiving midday sun of the Ceti System made her feel parched, even as the cold breeze reaching from the ocean wrapped tendrils of ice around her. Feeling herself go light-headed, she crawled to a shaded crevasse, where she sat down there the best she could. She had a ration of water with her and she helped herself to a portion. Her eyes kept watering and her lips were already cracked. Right after regaling them with his disgruntled opinions on the insanity of their plan, McCoy had also pointed out that if one thing was more dangerous than space, then it was probably this planet. Right now Carol couldn't agree more.

Her breathing improving a bit, she left her refuge and inched herself further away, even as she became aware that her legs wouldn't support her for long. Still she was determined to keep moving until her water ran out. It finally did after an hour, according to her chronometer. She sought another shelter from the cruel rays and gathering all her courage, she took out one of the unregistered starbase communicators she had with her and made use of her knowledge of the USS Vengeance's frequencies.

"This is Carol Marcus," she said into the device. "I need to speak to my father."

# # #

Her legs nearly cut out from under her as soon as the transport landed her on the bridge of the Vengeance. She was too familiar with the beaming process to get disoriented by the sudden change in locations anymore, but the recent exertion was taking its toll on her body. She braced herself firmly on her feet, trying to keep from staggering, and gave her new surroundings a quick once-over. Though the design and improvements of the ship had been made on Ceti Alpha V by Khan working with Section 31 engineers, it had been built in another secret location, in the Sol system, not far away from Jupiter. She had so far only seen the Vengeance in holovids.

The sight of the embodiment of Khan's strategic talents and the ingenuity of Starfleet brought her no joy. She didn't even know how she felt about the man standing up from the command chair and rushing towards her. Her father didn't wear his Starfleet uniform, which made sense, considering he was on a clandestine mission but attire similar to the one she had seen on Section 31 operatives, only that his was complete with admiral's insignia.

She drew a deep breath, her lungs reveling in being afforded sufficient oxygen, and mentally prepared herself for the confrontation to come. Her father's eyes swept over her, no doubt taking in her sweaty face and stained clothes resulting from her trek through the mountains. Whether he also sought evidence of mistreatment on the part of the Augments, she couldn't tell.

"What are you still doing on that planet, Carol?" her father demanded, the officer coming through more clearly than the parent.

"Looking for the man who raised me. The man I thought you were. The one who wouldn't betray us all and get innocent people killed."

Her father shut his eyes for a second or so, pressing his palm to his forehead, concern slipping into his expression. "He got into your head, didn't he? What did he tell you? That he was a peace-keeper?!"

She shook her head, hopelessness entering her heart that felt unnaturally heavy in her chest. "No, Dad, he didn't. He wasn't the one who lied to me. You were."

"We were losing the war, Carol," he shouted, the tone of his voice one she recognized from when he chastened her as a child. "The Federation risked being conquered by the Klingons. Our entire way of life was on the verge of being decimated. So I did what had to be done and took a tactical risk when I warped that bastard up, believing his superior intelligence could help save us."

"Was I included in that risk? Because you marooned me on this planet with him and his people... ."

"They're not people," he snapped. "They're not human, either. They were made in a lab to be tools, to be soldiers and then they made themselves conquerors. You saw yourself what even one of them can do, what he can build with the fewest of resources."

Her ears had been ringing ever since her father had interrupted her, unknowingly echoing Ling's words of earlier. No sooner had he finished his last sentence, than her hand came up almost by itself and violently collided with his right cheek. Someone behind her gasped, but anger blinded her to anything but her father's stunned face. For a moment he was frozen, blinking rapidly, mouth open, though no words came out.

"They were building a home," she spat.

Her father seemed to have shaken himself out of his stupor. "Don't be naive," he hissed. "They were building an empire. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but what about in ten years? In a hundred? They live twice as long as we do, Carol. And I wasn't going to let something even more dangerous than the Klingons or the Romulans grow right next door to us."

She took a step towards him. "Maybe. Maybe not. You have no way of knowing that for sure."

"Even if you're right, there are war criminals. They were already condemned to death. Now it is my duty to carry out that sentence before anybody else dies because of them."

"Only the winners decide what were war crimes," she reminded him somberly, though she had understood by now just how convinced he was of being right and that any pleading on her part would be useless. She wanted to hate Khan a bit for being correct about her father's fanaticism but she couldn't. "You told me of that quote," she added, her voice almost broken down to a whisper.

Her father gifted her one look of regret before backtracking to his chair. He said down, his posture reverting to commanding. "I am only going to ask you once, as your father and as your command officer." His eyes bored into hers. "Where is he?"

She glared back, willing her voice not to shake as she spoke. "I'm not a Starfleet officer anymore and I'm ashamed to be your daughter."

"I don't have time to deal with you right now," he said gesturing to a security officer almost twice her side.

Something nagged her, something in the way he had talked about carrying out the Augments' death sentence. It had sounded a lot like he had already done so. Considering his question, however, he had realized that they had survived the Klingon incursion on the colony. So he had to have something else in mind.

"What have you done?" she yelled, as the security guard made a grab for her, but she was quicker and almost succeeded in flinging herself at her father's chair. A second crew member stopped her, though, before she got too far.

All thoughts of how well she had played her part, managing to distract her father from any questions that might have lead to his guessing that the Enterprise was there, fled from her mind, her dark suspicions increasing with the resolute expression on the admiral's face. He was not even looking at her anymore, his eyes fixed on the planet visible through the large bridge screen, his jaw set firmly.

"Dad, no, please," she begged, not knowing what else she could do, as she was being dragged away. "Think that it could have been me down there. Dad... ."

He didn't answer her.

# # #

The two crewmen deposited her in a ready room not very far from the bridge, handling her with much more delicacy than they probably would have a prisoner who was not Admiral Marcus' daughter. Then they left without a word. She waited on baited breath, counting the seconds and fighting down her mounting anxiety. A panic attack would solve nothing and she needed to focus, stay with the plan and disable this formidable one-ship armada. After two minutes had gone by, enough for at least one of the guards to leave, confident in the locked door's ability to hold her in, she noiselessly slid to a panel on the wall.

In the light of how easily her father and Section 31 would have disposed of them, the starbase personnel had been all too eager to supply them with any security code they might need, including all those used on the Vengeance. She opened the door and made quick and good use of Khan's pointing out to her the holes in Starfleet's hand-to-hand combat style to leave the one remaining guard unconscious on the floor. She dragged him to the room she had just vacated, took his communicator and made a beeline for Engineering.

She hoped against hope that they had not yet deployed Khan's most recent redesign of the ship's shields. If they had, she would have to take them offline separately from the main system, which would require an additional six minutes that could be better spent trying to device what her father was up to. Surely enough, once in Engineering, she discovered the new shields firmly in place. With Khan's instructions at the forefront of her mind, disconnecting power from the weapons had been a child's play. She then contacted the Enterprise.

"Enterprise," she whispered, huddled in an empty corridor. "Can you read me?"

"Loud and clear," came Kirk's sonorous voice.

She briefly shut her eyes in relief. Maneuvering the shuttle through the intricate network of caves and natural tunnels connecting the Morningstar Mountains to the chasm on the bottom of the Ocean Dust where the Enterprise lay in wait, was risky, but Khan had made the voyage before, when exploring the possibilities of the underground wonder. Still convincing Kirk to take him on board the Enterprise after what had happened the first time around had been challenging and when the captain had finally conceded, he only agreed on condition that no other Augment would be coming along.

"They installed a new kind of shields and I don't have time to take those offline as well," she explained in her communicator. "You'll have to find another way in."

It was Khan who responded. "Cargo door, hanger 7, access port 101A," he said tightly.

"Airlock opening by manual override," she shot back. "I'm on my way there right now preparing you a warm welcome."

Just as she was breaking off, she heard Spock's soft yet determined voice say: "Captain, I strongly object." She gave it a fifty-fifty chance that Kirk would throttle his firs officer before this was over. Either that or Khan would do it for him.

As she ran towards hanger 7, she occupied her mind with how the Enterprise would majestically rise from the strange, pale brown waters of the Ocean of Dust to distract herself from needlessly obsessing over the still unknown threat to the people on the planet below.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: some lines of dialogue in this chapter are taken with modifications from the Star Trek Into Darkness movie. No copyright infringement is intended!

Thank you for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you enjoyed my fic. Please tell me what you think of this chapter as well.

# # #

"Carol," her father's voice called to her over the ship-wide comm system, gentleness infusing his tone. "I know it's you who shut us down and I am not angry. Not with you. I've spoken to Khan myself. I know how convincing he can be, when he wants to, how he gets into people's heads. He fooled me too for a while, before I remembered what this creature is, what's in his blood. Now he is playing you. Let me help you, Carol."

She anchored herself on the cord she had tied to a switched off console to keep from flying into the emptiness of space, once the airlock opened. She recognized the paternal inflection in the way her father spoke. Furthermore, what he had said was the absolute truth. Khan was manipulative and often downright callous. He had himself admitted in the past to attempting to brainwash her into emotional dependency on him, perhaps even convince her that she loved him. She had doubted his motives and intention where she was concerned for a long time and even now, with everything that had passed between them, she sometimes wondered just how authentic his care for her was. Had their tender moment in the cave been just one more ploy to ploy to tie her to him and reinforce her loyalty, now that the arrival of the Enterprise had brought fresh reminders of everything that was good and noble about the Federation?

"Just tell me where you are... please," her father continued after a short pause. "We'll sort this whole thing out. Then we can both go home and put this nightmare behind us."

Her heart was bleeding, not just with her Dad's pleas, but also with the pang of how much she missed Earth, her old life and her work in Starfleet. She had always tried to avoid thinking of it, aware that a return was out of the question, consoling herself with aiding the colony, her contribution to the starbase, the company of the few Augments who liked her and Khan's caresses. But buried beneath the long, busy days of Ceti Alpha V, the nostalgia had gnawed at her, tormenting her with memories of all that she had lost and could never have again. She had never considered that she could ever get it back.

Not until today. All she had to do in return was let Kirk and Khan smash against the thick metal of the Vengeance and everyone on the planet below, possibly eveyone on the Enterprise too, die at her own father's hands. Her nails dug into the solid material of the cord to the point of pain. No, she couldn't do it. Not even for the price of her freedom. Because her father was wrong: if she did, there would be no going back from this. The nightmare wouldn't stay in the Ceti Alpha system; it would follow them to Earth and consume them. No, if everything she was to have for the rest of her life were gray skies and Khan's treacherous embrace, then so be it, because they came with a clean conscience and a vague chance to save what was left of her father's soul.

Spock's voice over the communicator broke her out of her maudlin reverie with a countdown of Kirk and Khan's approach. She tensed, her hand poised above the manual control panel, and when the Vulcan's calm voice reached one, she slammed it down hard, while at the same time holding onto the cord strapping her to safety. Air swished past her at dizzying speed, lifting up her entire body, as the vacuum beyond the haven of the ship pulled at everything in the large hanger. For a few seconds she floated around helplessly before slamming down to her knees with enough force to rattle her bones and make her teeth snap together painfully.

Her left hand surged up and punched onto the panel, sealing the opened airlock again. Only then she allowed herself a small sigh of relief. A gloved hand wrapped itself around her left upper arm, pulling her to her feet, as she quickly untangled the cord from around her. When she turned to face her co-conspirators, she nearly collided with Khan. Separated by the display of his helmet, their eyes met briefly. It was too dark in the hanger to make out the sentiment in his and she did not want to lie to herself that it was gratitude or relief to see her alive and well.

"Welcome aboard," she said.

Khan stepped back, removing his helmet, and she could see Kirk sill on the floor, precariously on his knees, gasping for breath. She moved toward him, intent on assisting him somehow, but the captain managed to stand on his own before she reached him.

"You alright?" Kirk asked, sliding off his own helmet. The concern in his voice was genuine, but there was also an edge of wariness to it. Whatever he had heard of her and Khan's conversation down in the cave had most definitely increased his doubts about her state of mind. Did he believe like her father that Khan had brainwashed her into being subservient to him? And if he did, was he wrong?

She nodded in response to Kirk's question. "I take it my father wasn't happy to see the Enterprise here?"

Kirk grimaced. "He threatened to have us all court-marshaled for treason and when I implied that's the pot calling the kettle black, he made sure we knew he wouldn't hesitate to fire upon us."

"They'll know we're here," Khan interrupted, his measured voice brisk and business-like, no measure of annoyance in it. "The best way to the bridge is adjacent to the engine room. They won't be able to use their weapons there without risk of damaging the core."

With one last look to her, Kirk speedily peeled himself out of the propulsion suit and took out the phasers attached to it. "It's locked to stun," he said while handing one to Khan.

"Theirs won't be," the Augment countered.

"Try not to get shot," Kirk uttered in reply, his tone indicating he didn't care much either way.

Carol felt a fresh stab of anxiety. It would take a miracle for this to end well. She strode towards the two men regarding each with matching mistrust, resisting the urge to place herself between them. "I think my father plans to do something to Ceti Alpha V, once the ship's power is restored," she informed them. "I saw a terminal on my here from where I can get into the bridge computers and I have a feeling we'll want to know what's happening sooner rather than later."

Khan nodded in agreement, but Kirk looked skeptical. "Take this then," the captain said handing her a phaser as well.

# # #

Her blood ran cold and she grabbed onto the cool, metal edge of the terminal for support, as the details of her father's back-up plan to destroy the Augment colony came into view. Breathing in deeply, she steadied herself, frantically counting her options. She had no way of knowing whether Kirk and Khan had reached the bridge and seized control of the ship yet. Despite what her father might think, she fully comprehended what Khan was capable of and had no doubt of the success of their endeavor, but still it would not do to disrupt them via communicator in the middle of a fight. Contacting the Enterprise would be pointless, since the device her father had installed on Ceti Alpha VI had to be switched off from the Vengeance's command console within a certain time frame. Afterwards it would be too late.

She briefly debated announcing the Enterprise anyway so they could maybe try and evacuate the people trapped on the planet. But the mineral in the mountains that had previously been their salvation and now risked becoming a mass grave would interfere with the transporter's signal and there simply wasn't enough time to get them out of there through the tunnels leading to the surface.

Left with no other alternative, she took off running towards the bridge, following the route Khan had described before they had parted ways. She came across the unconscious bodies of some of the Vengeance crew en route, but the cavernous halls of the ship were otherwise empty. It made sense, since the war vessel could be run by one person if necessary and her father would not take too many on this illegal operation. Adrenaline and despair fueled her, mingling with her anger, the blood pounding in her ears. The ship's walls were a blur she barely noticed out of the corner of her eye. Luckily, with Khan's combat skills paving the way for her, there would be nobody trying to stop her. Everything but her target faded from her mind. She needed to get to the bridge. That was all.

# # #

The scene greeting her once the turbolift doors opened to admit her on the bridge was nothing she could have predicted. The entire crew was on the floor, out of commission. That had been expected. Her father was still in his chair, glaring at Kirk and Khan, the latter closer to the admiral, the look on the superhuman's face one of cold fury. Before anyone could speak or Carol could move, Kirk shot Khan in the back with a phaser blast and the Augment fell to the floor.

"No," Carol cried out and rushed towards Khan. His chest moved with regular breath and when she pressed her fingers to his neck, she found a pulse, only then the dim of memory of Kirk's setting all of their phasers to stun cutting through her panic.

"Admiral Marcus, you're under arrest on suspicion of treason and use of unauthorized and excessive force against a protectorate of the United Federation of Planets." Kirk's confident, determined voice resonated on the deadly silent bridge.

"You're not actually gonna do this, are you?" her father retorted only in mild disbelief.

"Admiral," Kirk said tightly. "Get out of the chair."

In a flash of insight, Carol understood what her father would do next: stall until all evidence contained on Ceti Alpha V would be gone. Then he could probably talk his way out of the whole mess with the Enterprise. He outranked Kirk, after all, and the right words on a well-drafted report went a long way. She stared at the admiral's right hand fingers and the dreadful resolution laying underneath them, her eyes burning.

From what Khan had told her, the Vengeance bridge had the built-in transporter commands separate from the specially designated room. She had no way of knowing whether that was true of any of the consoles there, but she had to try. She was nearing the end of her rope, uncertain of whom to trust and fresh out of options. She threw herself at the nearest console, as fast and as silently as she could, hoping to carry out her intentions before Kirk could notice and stun her, too.

It was likely too late for anything, the precious seconds wasted on Kirk's attempt at an arrest probably long enough to allow the activation to go through, even assuming the Enterprise crew would be interested in averting the catastrophe. And she couldn't be sure of anyone and anything anymore. She initiated the beaming down process, even as her father shouted something at her. She wasn't listening. Kirk stared at her in shock, as he craned his neck to look at what she was doing, opening her mouth to say something as well. His words were lost, as her molecules started to break apart and the Vengeance's interior faded from view. She didn't care. The time for talking had passed, anyway.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: some lines of dialogue in this chapter are taken with modifications from the Star Trek Into Darkness movie. No copyright infringement is intended!

If you're still reading, please review as well! Kudos, complaints and criticism of any kind is more than welcome! :)

# # #

The surprise of Carol's teleportation was replaced a mere instant later by that of a body slamming into his with enough force to make him grunt. Khan's enraged voice swam into view, as Kirk found himself on his back on the floor. The Augment gave a guttural cry, before beginning to pummel at him. Kirk tried to resist, but Khan's precise and brutal blows had him light-headed with pain in no time. He was then lifted with startling ease and thrown unceremoniously into a far wall, from where he slumped down, drained of strength and fighting for a breath that made his chest hurt with each desperate intake of oxygen.

Despite what Spock sometimes thought, Kirk wasn't irresponsible, especially not where the lives of his crew were concerned. The cold-blooded murder of the Augments might not have sat well with him, but Kirk had not for one second forgotten just how quickly after being awakened Khan had entrapped the Enterprise crew in the back and tried to gain control of the ship. His suspicions had been increased exponentially by Carol Marcus' erratic behavior, so much so that by the time he had reached the Vengeance, his decision had been made.

Tired of helping Khan advance his mysterious plan, he had let the Augment get in front of him, where he could keep an eye on him at all times, and then dropped him. However, Carol's action had startled him into taking his eyes off the superhuman for a moment. It had turned out to be just what Khan needed. Apparently, not even the highest setting of the phaser's stun function could take the man out of commission for long.

Once Kirk was incapacitated, Khan dashed after Marcus, nabbing him as he was hurriedly trying to activate a command panel near the lift. He pushed the admiral to his knees by the sheer force of his bare hands placed on the officer's temples. Kirk had always known before that Khan was dangerous, but nothing had prepared him for the murderous rage written over the Augment's profile. Dark locks of hair had fallen into his eyes and the muscles of his arms bulged as he applied pressure to the admiral's head. Khan looked positively feral in that instant and not at all human.

What others took for recklessness in him Kirk saw as fearlessness, but upon hearing the ferocious growl leaving the Augment lips, the sound mixing with the admiral's cry of pain, a primitive kind of terror emerged from the captain's lizard brain, unfamiliar chills licking at his spine. But Kirk was nothing if not brave. Though he knew his chances against the superhuman were non-existent, he still tried to push himself to his feet and try to come to the admiral's aid. His muscles would not obey and he slid back to the deck with a shudder.

"Do you know why I'm allowing you to live?" Khan asked, the fury on his face fully reflected in his voice.

The admiral didn't answer, pulling futilely at the Augment's arms.

"Captain Kirk," came a clear, feminine voice over the ship's comm. Carol Marcus.

Khan's head snapped up and his eyes roved over the bridge, as if he had only now noticed her absence. Wordlessly he flung the admiral to the floor and delivered a kick to both of the man's legs at the same time, garnering an agonized howl from him. Then he knocked him out. Or perhaps he had just killed him. There was no way to tell, given the Augment's powerfully violent blow.

"Khan, is that you?" Carol asked, no doubt knowing what to expect of the Augment by now. Kirk didn't want to think about what he had done to her to induce this particularly nasty form of Stockholm syndrome she seemed to be suffering from. He vowed once more to pry her from Khan's clutches, if it was the last thing he did.

Khan moved swiftly to the command chair, took a seat in an imperious yet casual manner, as if that place belonged to him. "Yes, Carol, it's me," he answered, voice devoid of his previous anger. He speedily pressed a few commands on the control panel to his right and glanced at the front screen, frowning when no image appeared.

"Is everyone...?"

"Everyone is alive," Khan confirmed, sparing a look of disgust to her father's prone from. Kirk wanted to breathe in relief but he couldn't, knowing this was far from over. "Where are you?"

"Ceti Alpha VI," she replied, sounding a little breathless.

Kirk froze. The closest planet to Ceti Alpha V was K-class and its meager atmosphere was incapable of sustaining human life. Judging by the way anger drained from Khan's face to be replaced by an unexpected conflicted expression, the superhuman was aware of it as well.

"My father used what we know of the technology that destroyed Vulcan to inject a bomb into the planet's core. I'm in its control nacelle on the surface."

The blaze of fury sparked with a new flame on Khan's face, but the fingers of his right hand were nothing but steady as they typed on the command console. His left hand formed a fist on the arm of the captain chair and he turned his head to the side, briefly squeezing his eyes shut, making lines of worry blossom all over his face. Kirk had never seen the Augment afraid before and he had an inkling that right now the superhuman leader might be at his most dangerous.

"The device already activated," he said, raising his voice a little, pure terror infecting his tone.

"I know," came Carol shaky reply. "I'm trying to shut it off manually from the ground control."

Kirk experienced a moment of regret and uncharacteristic self-doubt. Had his jumping to conclusions about the Augment's intentions somehow precipitated this? "What's going to happen to Ceti Alpha V, if that device explodes?" he wheezed.

Khan glared at him, but there was nothing of the usual power of his gaze in his widened eyes. Instead a new intensity had dawned on his features. He even looked paler than usual. Whether it was fear, desolation or sorrow that he saw on Khan's face, Kirk couldn't tell. The mere thought of such human emotions in the Augment was deeply unsettling.

"The two planets are too close. A blast of such magnitude would incinerate Ceti Alpha V's atmosphere instantaneously killing everyone of the people I hold most dear," Khan explained, his voice gruff and pained, his eyes almost misty at the last words.

"I've got it," Carol's voice boomed once again over the comm. "If I can trigger an explosion inside the control nacelle, it would send a signal to the bomb that detonation already occurred and it would disarm itself."

Khan surveyed his console thoughtfully. "I'll transport you back to the Vengeance, once you've set up the blast."

"You can't," Carol replied quickly, her voice too calm for Kirk's liking. Something was very wrong. "The controls have to be rerouted manually on a specific sequence to send the right signal to the bomb and someone will have to keep that sequence on repeat right until the nacelle detonates. There's no other way."

Khan stood up. "Then I'll take your place."

"No," she said firmly. "I already started cutting the optic fibers leading to the control panel. If I take my hand off them or make the wrong move, the planet explodes anyway and it was all for nothing." She paused only her nervous breath coming over the communication system. "If you beam me back, your family dies." A long, shuddery sigh traveled to the ship from the deathtrap on Ceti Alpha VI. "Just let me do it." Her voice was pitched high to the point of being shrill, but that didn't detract from the vehemence in it. The woman speaking had clearly made her peace with her impending death.

"No," Kirk yelled hoarsely, pulling himself to all fours with considerable effort. "Get her out of there."

"It was always going to be like this," Carol continued as if he no one had spoken. "Me for them."

Then the communication was abruptly cut. Khan's fists balled once more and Kirk was arrested on his way to getting up by the sight of one lone tear slipping from the ancient warrior's left eye, running down his paper-white cheek. The captain thought perhaps hysterically that in that moment the man truly looked three hundred years old. Then by a force of will Kirk could not hope to understand, the Augment seemed to pull himself out of his despondency and sauntered to him only to use his leg to kick him in the diaphragm area, causing the captain to drop back on the deck coughing convulsively. Kirk didn't know if Khan had hit to keep him down or simply because he was the only conscious target for him to vent on his hopelessness.

The Augment pulled out his communicator next and talked into it at rapid fire pace. "Joaquin, take one of our cryotubes, Kati, Otto and Mai in the shuttle with you and come out of the mountains. I'm in control of the Vengeance so as soon as you're in my transporter's range, I will beam your companions on board, but you will continue towards the USS Enterprise, where you are to comply with the acting captain's instructions."

"Yes, Sir," came the unflinching reply.

It had to be nice to have a second in command, who didn't question even the oddest of your orders, Kirk thought, while swallowing the bile raising in his throat and trying to come up with a way to get himself out of this one.

"And Joaquin?"

"Sir?"

"Hurry!"

Khan snapped his communicator shut and advanced towards Kirk once more. He grabbed the captain by the back of his neck, holding him on his feet as if he were a string puppet.

"I think it's time we talked to your first officer, Kirk."

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

"Where is the captain, Mr. Sulu?" Spock asked, employing his mental shields to full force to keep a most disturbing hint of anxiety from peeking through.

The helmsman's nervousness was, however, evident, when he responded in an unsteady voice. "Our sensors can't find him, Sir."

"Commander, we're being hailed by the Vengeance," Nyota spoke from behind him, a note of uneasiness permeating her otherwise professional voice.

The acting captain shot her a quick look. "On screen, please."

Someone on the suddenly silent bridge gasped as the captain's bruised face filled the screen. Khan was behind him, holding a phaser to his head. Spock entertained no illusions about the weapon's setting. For the first they since they had met him, the Augment looked truly unhinged, his hair wild and his eyes burning with a raw emotion Spock could not fully identify. His elder counterpart's warning from over two years about about the psychopathic despot rang in the commander's ears, cautioning to tread carefully.

"I am going to make this very simple for you, Mister Spock," Khan said, the eerie calm in his voice in direct contrast with his appearance.

"You betrayed us," Spock noted.

"Commander, I would love nothing more than to discuss hypocrisy with you, considering that it was Kirk who shot me the moment I turned my back on him, but as it is, I have an emergency to attend to."

"Spock, don't," Jim interrupted, his voice strained.

Khan hit him hard with the but of the phaser of for his trouble and let him tumble to the floor. Then the Augment leaned slightly forward as if trying to look Spock straight in the eye through the comm system and the sliver of space separating them. "If you want everyone on this ship and yours to live, you will do exactly as I say."

"And I refuse?" Spock tried.

"Let's play this out logically then, Mister Spock. Firstly, I will kill your captain to demonstrate my resolve then if yours holds and seeing as the Vengeance has full power now, I will target your life support systems located behind the aft nacelle. How strong do you think your resolve will be, when cold corpses begin to fill the decks of the Enterprise?"

Spock was certain not a crack was visible on his facade, as he banished any potentially distraught thoughts of his best friends in the hands of this mad man, of the woman he loved standing behind him and of the Enterprise that had become his home after the loss of his planet. He calculated as rapidly as he could, but the outcome was always the same. The Vengeance was larger, much better armed and boasted shields his own ship's weapons could not hope to so much as scratch. His best alternative was to stall and negotiate with Khan, perilous as that might be.

"What do you want?" he asked the Augment darkly.

"There is a shuttle approaching the Enterprise with one of our former cryotubes. You will let the passenger and the tube on board your ship and have a medical team wait for me in your transporter room in three minutes."

Spock frowned slightly, as he sorted through Khan's words for hidden meanings. "If you require medical assistance of any kind, we will provide it," he assured in his most reasonable voice. "There is no need for threats."

He was interrupted by the chirping of a communicator on the enemy ship bridge and Khan moved swiftly to the command console to press at a few keys on it. The stand-off immediately grew more complicated, as three other Augments materialized on the deck of the Vengeance.

Khan lifted his head to gaze at Spock again. "I turned my back on one of you once. It's not a mistake I care to repeat. Now will you give me what I want?"

"If I do so, I have no guarantees you will not attempt to take over the Enterprise once you arrive on board. You have done so before."

Khan narrowed his eyes, a streak of wrath accentuating his features. The instincts coiled within Spock's human half warned him that Augment's patience seemed to be wearing thin. "If you do not, I will destroy both you and your ship. The choice is yours, Commander."

Spock looked to Sulu. "Open docking bay for the incoming shuttle."

"That was wise of you, Mister Spock," Khan said condescendingly. He glanced at the Augment closest to him on the bridge. "If anyone moves, kill them," he ordered, but the Vulcan thought it was mostly for his benefit. Then Khan's eyes were back on the acting captain of the Enterprise. "Prepare to beam me up on my signal."

# # #

Back when Carol had been a Science Officer with Startfleet Command, she had worked on several high-priority, classified weapons project under her father's direct supervision. That had been when their personal and professional relationship had been at its best and he had not been denying her access to anything under his purview. One of said projects involved modifying a regular ship nacelle into a capsule with its own life-support systems to be installed on hostile planets in order to facilitate weapons deployment. So she knew their functionalities well. Even as she had beamed down from the Vengeance, she had already begun to guess her best bet at defusing the bomb implanted into the core of Ceti Alpha VI would be to do just what she was doing now, using a small precision cutter and her own fingers to rearrange the dense bundle of optical state links supplying information to the control panel into a new and deadly configuration.

The nacelle's life-support system did not have much of a staying power and the claustrophobic interior was overheating. Sweat ran down Carol's face and back, her throat dry and her heart racing to compensate for the stress her body was enduring, as she navigated her way through the insides of the machinery surrounding her, doing her best to keep an eye on the monitor connected to the panel, to make sure her handy work was not scrambling the signal she was supposed to send to the bomb.

Carol was not inclined towards contemplation by nature, nor had she been prone to pessimism until she had landed on Ceti Alpha V. She had lived on a vibrant, colorful and overall happy world that generally gave birth to optimists. Hence, she had never given much thought to how she would die. Apparently, her untimely death was to follow suit. The taxing procedure she was trying to complete required her undivided attention. The heat and the awkward, hunched position she was in did not help with that. The little brain energy she could spare was devoted to overcoming her body discomfort in order to keep her focus. She could not afford to dwell on fears, regrets and doubts.

The optical links began to glow in her hands, singing her skin. She gritted her teeth against the pain. It didn't matter now, anyway. She was almost done. She had to keep going. Her eyes were riveted to the numbers and letters on the monitor, checking her work one last time, then she prickled at the final cable. The nacelle shook around her. Her fingers felt as if they were literally on fire by now and perhaps they were. She ignored them. The sequence was correct; she had made it. She didn't have time for another thought, as she was thrown back against the breaking walls of the tiny structure and away from the inferno of the exploding panel but into the toxic atmosphere of Ceti Alpha VI.

Unwanted, a scream was wrenched from her throat then it was all gone.

# # #

Logical and in accordance with Starfleet regulations as well as with his duty as his past objections to some of the captain's decision had been, standing in the overcrowded Enterprise transport room, under siege from both Dr. McCoy and the Chief Engineer, Spock was beginning to wonder, albeit rather irrationally, if he had not perhaps criticized Jim a little too often. Maybe there was such thing as a yet to be discovered physical law of universal balance and he was just now paying for the occasions when he had been too harsh with Jim.

"We just committed treason against a Starfleet admiral and now we lettin' them back on board?" Mister Scott opined in outrage gesturing from behind the transporter console to Khan's second in command standing next to a cryotube and watching the scene enfolding before him bemusedly. "After what happened last time?" the engineer added.

"Could you at least tell us who's been hurt and in what conditions they are?" McCoy asked their unwanted guest, Joaquin, if Spock's memory served him well. He had taken position at Spock's side, flanked by the nurse who had accompanied him from sickbay. Six armed security officers were also present.

"I don't know," the Augment said. He did not appear to be lying.

"So what? You just show up with a cryotube on a hostile ship because Khan told you to?" McCoy retorted, sounding more cantankerous than ever.

"In my century, we obeyed orders instead of questioning them," the other man said mildly.

McCoy snorted then turned to Spock. "We're not actually doing this, do we?"

"At present we do not have any other option, Doctor," Spock reminded him patiently.

"Khan is hailing us from the surface of Ceti Alpha VI," Uhura informed them over the comm.

Spock flipped his communicator open. "Lieutenant, tell Mr. Sulu to lower our shields," he said into it before his eyes found those of the Chief Engineer. "Beam him aboard, Mister Scott."

The Chief did so with a heavy sigh. Spock had calculated the odds of Khan lying about the implied medical problem and his setting a new trap for the Enterprise crew at 92.6 percent. However, given the many variables at work and the lack of sufficient information, he had also estimated the probability of a third, insofar unknown, explanation at 87.3 percent. His second estimation turned out to be exact, as Khan materialized on the pad, outfitted in the same propulsion suit he had left the Enterprise in, holding the unnaturally still, bloody body of Carol Marcus in his arms.

"My God!" the doctor exclaimed, running towards them. "What happened?"

Khan didn't reply just glanced at the other Augment in the room. Joaquin nodded without a word and turned to type at the settings of the cryotube. Spock stepped closer just in time to see McCoy blanch. "She is dead," the doctor said, eying his tricorder critically, as if the instrument was somehow responsible for the woman's condition.

"No, she is not," Khan interjected, his normally sonorous voice dimmed by the helmet he was wearing.

"Damn it, man, I'm a doctor, not an amateur," McCoy grumbled, brandishing his tricorder. "She's got no vital signs."

"But her brain functions might be preservable, in which case I can save her," Khan corrected, advancing towards the cryotube.

McCoy frowned in thought, as Joaquin maneuvered the tube open and Khan gingerly lay Dr. Marcus' body inside. Her deep, blue eyes were wide-open, staring in apprehension at the unknown. There was a rivulet of blood running from her parted lips, but her face was otherwise undamaged and the expression on it was one of subdued suffering. Spock had long since come to terms with his own mortality, choosing to face death with a complete and lack of feeling, which had earned him more than a fair share of troubles in his relationships with Nyota and his best friend, but the woman in front of him had not died in an emotional vacuum. She had been afraid and in pain.

Pulling himself out of the restless reverie, he refocused on Khan and the threat he posed to the ship security. "On what do you base this assumption?"

Khan continued to ignore him in favor of gently brushing an errand strand of dirt-caked hair from Carol's unmoving face with his gloved hand. He then locked her inside the cryotube.

"He is right," spoke the doctor for him. "When we first woke him up, I took a blood sample. His cells regenerated like nothing I've ever seen. I've injected his platelets into a dead tribble's tissue of necrotic host." He gave Spock a pointed look. "It woke up in a matter of hours."

"Am I correct in assuming you have no blood left from that experiment?"

"No, but we've got them here. I can synthesize a serum out of their superblood and give her a transfusion."

"Actually, you only have me," Khan corrected. He had taken off his helmet and his pensive gaze revealed nothing of what he might be thinking. "You will beam Joaquin back to the Vengeance and once he is there, Kati will send you Admiral Marcus."

As if on cue Joaquin's eyes snapped to his commander and for all his boasting of obedience to his superior, he looked about to protest. Khan scowled vaguely in his direction and the other man said nothing, following the unspoken order. Oblivious to the negotiating going on around him, Dr. McCoy approached the cryotube and summarily analyzed its settings before pointing a hand-held scanner to the narrow window covering Carol's face.

"And what of Captain Kirk and the rest of the Vengeance crew?" Spock wanted to know.

"As soon as the doctor finishes the transfusion, you can exchange me for them," Khan answered promptly.

Spock's mind narrowed in on the chess piece Khan seemed intent on obscuring from view in this game they were playing. "You mean to keep the USS Vengeance for yourself, do you?"

Khan cocked his head to the side and sneered. "I think it's only fair, considering that I designed it."

"You do understand that we cannot allow that to happen?"

Khan smirked, but there was no joy or triumph in it, instead bitterness colored the sardonic twist of his lips. "You are smart, Mr. Spock." He inched himself closer to the Vulcan, who stood his ground. Instantly the security guards around them tensed. Over Khan's shoulder Spock saw Joaquin remain completely relaxed, obviously confident in his commander's ability to handle the situation. "You know what your ship's chances are against mine," Khan stated. There was no trace of arrogance in his words; he was merely elaborating a given fact.

They were at a stalemate and they both knew it. Spock opted for a strategic retreat. "Mr. Scott, beam our guest to the Vengeance."

"Aye, Sir," the Chief said begrudgingly.

Assisted by two of the security officers, Dr. McCoy was just removing the cryotube from the tranporter room and Khan made to follow, the remaining guards shadowing him at Spock's silent signal, when Admiral Marcus appeared on the pad. His face was severely bruised, his lower lip split and when he attempted to rise from his fallen position, his legs refused to obey and he could only let out a helpless grunt of pain. Upon seeing Khan, his focus changed from his own physical discomfort to the Augment, whom he regarded with undisguised hatred. "What have you done to her?" he growled.

Khan abandoned any pretense of indifference, glaring murderously at Carol's father. "Nothing you didn't do yourself," Khan roared, paroxystic anger reverberating in his voice.

Everybody in the room froze and fingers clenched on phasers. McCoy shot Spock a concerned look. The Vulcan himself put away the communicator he had taken out to call for a second medical team to the transporter room, readying himself for the worst. Khan's first attempt at taking over the Enterprise had proved that Spock was the only one on board who could match the Augment in one-on-one combat.

"You kept my family hostage," Khan snarled at the his fallen enemy. "You wanted to make me a slave and when you couldn't, you tried to kill us all. Twice. The only reason you failed was your daughter's nobility of spirit. But if Carol doesn't wake up, there isn't a black hole in this Universe that you can crawl in to get away from me."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: some lines of dialogue in this chapter are taken with modifications from the Star Trek Into Darkness movie. No copyright infringement is intended!

A line in this chapter is taken from Moby Dick. Can you tell which one, my dear and most devoted readers? :) Thank you all for your wonderful feedback; I'm pleased you're enjoying this so much!

# # # 

Though the environmental controls were functioning normally, the atmosphere in the sickbay was highly charged and bordering on the unbreathable. For once, it was crowded, the place crawling with armed security officers. The nurses were visibly intimidated, but the people with phasers had nothing to do with it. The responsibility rested squarely on Khan's imposing shoulders. The Augment sat on one of the beds, back impossibly straight, still as a living statue, his eyes glued to the nearby cryotube with Carol Marcus in it. For all intents and purposes, he was keeping vigil.

A mere flimsy wall away M'Benga tended to Admiral Marcus, who had one too many broken bones in his body and who had been raving about their impending court-marshaling all the while Spock had placed him under arrest and under his own armed escort. McCoy didn't have the slightest doubt that the man holding Jim hostage for responsible for the injuries sustained by the soon-to-be former head of Starfleet. The whole situation grated on the doctor's nerves. This was not what he had signed up for. He should have known better and stayed away from Jim Kirk's ship.

Under any other circumstances, the doctor would have found it unseemly not to have the father close to his daughter in such moments, but he was loathe to risk putting Khan and Marcus in the same room together again. And something told him trying to separate Khan from the Carol's cryotube would not end well. Besides, he needed the Augment to be on his best and most cooperative behavior in order to save her.

Rather than leave the task to one of his nurses, McCoy approached Khan with the blood extractor himself. The Augment didn't even look at him but briskly rolled up his sleeve and extended his arm towards the doctor. McCoy pressed the extractor into a vein with more force than he would have used on a mere human, but then he knew from experience that Khan's skin was not exactly easy to pierce. Anyway, the superhuman showed no sign of discomfort.

He filled a vial and removed the extractor, but Khan didn't withdraw his arm. "You might want to take a reserve," he said in a low monotone.

McCoy had never before been in the position to cure someone, much less someone who was clinically dead, by using the blood of another living person and he had never intended to take more of that than strictly necessary from anyone, not even from Khan. But he figured it would not hurt to take a closer look at the extraordinary properties of the Augment's vital fluid, so, since Khan didn't complain, he ended up extracting three vials in the end. Throughout it all, the man kept watching the cryotube, his expression unreadable.

Once he had the blood, McCoy moved to his work station and started on the serum. Going by his revived tribble case study, he was confident in being able to get results very soon, which was just as well, since Khan's presence in the med bay was making even the computers nervous.

"We can't just let you walk out of here with her, you know?" McCoy said while adjusting the development of the synthesis process.

"Walk, Doctor?" Khan asked in a mildly ironic tone of voice.

McCoy glanced over his shoulder. As predicted, Khan had not budge and he continued to stare in the same enervating manner. "Whatever deal you stroke with Marcus about her, I guarantee you it's illegal. And we're not gonna let you keep her prisoner."

A hint of a smile floated briefly on Khan's lips, though none of his facial muscles moved. "Oh, I assure you, Doctor, it's all very legal."

McCoy's stomach trembled with unease. He wanted to ask more questions, but the computer called for his attention. "Platelets adjustment process complete," the artificial voice announced. McCoy had no choice but to turn to his work.

# # #

The clouds at the top of Ceti Alpha V's atmosphere looked like thick waves of spun silver. Above them, in the blackness of space separating the fifth and sixth planets of system, the massive, dark hull of the Vengeance towered over the sinewy lines of the Enterprise. On their respective bridges two men were locked in a stand-down for a second time.

Spock stared at the man covering the front screen, as Khan took the few steps to the command chair of his ship in a deliberate and imperious manner that was obviously aimed at both stalling and intimidating. A show of power. But Spock was not easily influenced and none of his facial muscles twitched in reaction.

"I have fulfilled all of your terms," the Vulcan told Khan calmly. "Now fulfill mine," he added, his tone close to an order.

Khan seated himself in the captain's chair, his eyes finding Captain Kirk who was huddled in a corner of the bridge, one of Augments keeping a phaser trained on him. When he spoke, he did not address Spock. "Well, Kirk, seems I am to return you to your ship. But I could not let you leave without a parting gift. After all, you did come to my people's aid without any ulterior motive of your own." His fingers skimmed over the controls installed in the left arm of his chair. "I would be careful, though. Truth uncompromisingly told will always have its jagged edges."

Golden strips of light blossomed in various locations on the bridge. Only then Khan looked at Spock again, the glint of a challenge in his eyes.

"What will do with the starbase personnel still on Ceti Alpha V?"

"I will drop those who want to leave on the edge of Federation space, but whoever wants to stay with us will also be under our protection."

"You are still assuming we will allow you ownership of the Vengeance."

Khan leaned back in his chair, seeming almost bored by now. "You are free to fight me for it, Mister Spock, but I have a colony to rebuild and I would rather not waste time watching you fire one useless torpedo after another into our shields. But in case your captain makes the right decision, I would like you with your fondness for the rules to pass a message onto your superiors: I think it's time we dispense with the pretense of the protectorate and start avoiding each other altogether. If they keep out of my system, neither your or they will ever see the Vengeance or any of us anywhere near Federation space. If they, however, feel like repeating Admiral Marcus' latest mistake, darkness will be coming to your world. In every way imaginable." He cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowing and voice dropping slightly lower, the threat uttered in a cold, self-contained tone. "Do not provoke my wrath!"

# # #

"Captain, I must object," Spock said firmly once Kirk set one foot out of the brig, where Khan had seen fit to beam him and the Vengeance crew. The captain spared a brief string of mental expletives to contradictory dictators from the past and their wry sense of humor.

"I guess I must be home," he said out loud with a smile, looking over his first officer's shoulder to Uhura who stifled a grin of her own but regarded him with luminous eyes.

"Where the hell is he?" came Bones' indignant voice from down the corridor. "I told you to get him right down to sickbay the second he's back on board," the doctor continued in the vague direction of Spock, lifting his hand-held scanner to the side of Kirk's face, as he talked.

"Bones, I'm fine," Kirk said through gritted teeth.

"The hell you are," the CMO diagnosed.

Kirk glared at him curtly before starting towards the bridge, Spock and Uhura falling in step behind him, just as Bones at his side continued to scan him, as they walked. Kirk sighed, stifling a fresh bout of aggravation. "Khan said something about a gift. Any idea what it is?" he asked his first officer.

It was Uhura who answered him. "He beamed a relay to my station. It's the Vengeance's captain and communication log."

"I have a feeling we're not gonna like what's in it," he muttered. "Bones, get that thing off my face," he snapped at his friends, who was trying to press a small, rounded medical instrument to the his right cheek. Bones drew back with a scowl and a curse word that sent Spock's left eyebrow into the stratosphere.

Kirk stopped in the middle of hallway and eyed his second-in-command warily. "Alright, Spock, out with it. Which one of my thoughts don't you like this time?"

Spock frowned, obviously confused. Kirk sighed again and looked at Uhura. "You were supposed to teach him about sass and sarcasm!"

Uhura's lips twisted in annoyance. "From what I've heard, he's pretty good at it when it comes to

giving Admiral Pike attitude."

"Children," Bones complained. "God help me! I'm stuck on a ship run by children." And with that he sharply spun on a heel and headed towards med bay.

"I am expressing several attitudes simultaneously, when addressing another person. To which are you referring?" Spock asked Uhura.

"Sometimes I wanna rip... the bangs off your head, Spock," Jim rumbled, unable to help himself. He held up a hand, as both the Vulcan and Uhura stared at him, the first in disbelief and the second in a mixture of amusement and sympathy. "I know that was inappropriate. Lieutenant, report to the bridge and see what's on that relay Khan wanted us to have. Nobody but you touches it. If you need any help, speak to Scotty. No one else."

Uhura nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"Alright, Spock, second guess me."

Spock still regarded him with a dubious scowl but spoke anyway, his voice as measured as ever. "Captain, it is my belief that you plan to let Khan keep the Vengeance."

"The way I see it: he made it, he can choke on it."

"Khan's control of the Vengeance possesses a considerable potential threat to Federation security. Furthermore, I estimate this situation to constitute an early inception of the events my counterpart from the alternate reality described as leading to his untimely death."

A third sigh left Kirk's lips unbidden. He blinked a few times, trying to divine the best way to explain Spock what was on his mind. "He's not the same man, Spock." He took a step closer to his first officer. "We are not the same people your counterpart and his Captain Kirk were. What I'm about to do is not logical, it is a gut feeling. But I'm telling you, Spock: all he wants is to protect his family. Besides, you've seen that ship. There's no way he can withstand an attack from her. And yet he won't fire on us... which is, by the way, more of a courtesy that Admiral Marcus was willing to extend us."

Spock seemed to consider this for a few seconds. "There might be another reason why he doesn't fire on the Enterprise."

Kirk nodded grimly. He had deliberately been avoiding any thought of what he had witnessed on the Vengeance and of the tender words overheard while still in that cave on Ceti Alpha V. The mere possibility they entailed was too unsettling to contemplate. But if he were to make an informed command decision, he had no other choice.

"Yes," Kirk said. "And she is in our sickbay, not on the Vengeance. This tells us something."

"And what would that be, Captain?"

"The even he is only human."

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I hope this chapter answers some of your questions. Please let me know what you think of it, as well! Thanks! :)

# # #

Carol was dreaming. She knew she was dreaming, because she was also aware that there was something she was missing. Something she couldn't remember, but that didn't make it any less real. The dream was also real. It had happened to her, when she was eight. She was visiting her father in San Francisco, since her parents had divorced not long after she had been born. In fact, her best impression of them was that they had never been married. They had certainly done a good job of acting like strangers her whole life.

That time her father took her to the Observatory attached to Starfleet to show her the stars and tell her tales of glittering ships exploring the cosmos in search of new lives and new civilizations. Her father seemed like a giant and Carol listened to him intently, wishing she could grow up to wear a dignified uniform like her Dad's and discover the secrets of the universe with Starfleet.

Then the dream changed and she was back in London about to enroll into Starfleet Academy. She came to visit her mother, who, fearing for her safety and worried that such a career would completely take over her life just like it had happened with her father, didn't want her anywhere near the humanitarian armada the Federation boosted. Yet her supportive Mum had never openly opposed her decision. But that day Carol had walked in to hear her weep softly behind the closed bedroom door.

She woke up from her dream in her bed in the Augment colony. Something was wrong. There had been a sound coming from somewhere near her. An agonized moan. It took her a few moments of disorientation, but finally she remembered. She and Khan had been sleeping together for weeks, but this was the first time he had had a nightmare. She reached for him, however he jumped awake the second she touched him, his moves those of a panther on the prowl. He turned his back to her and slid out of the bed. He left the room before she could ask him if he was alright.

Something was still wrong. She knew what Khan's rare nightmares were about. She remembered the feel of his arms around her, when he told her about the facility where the Augments had been raised like cattle, put through grueling training to be turned into the perfect soldiers and used as test subjects for biological weapons, should they fall short of the impossible standards set for them by their creators. She got out of the bed and despite the darkness of the chamber, she had no need to order the lights on, because she could see perfectly.

The door opened for her and she was reminded with a start what was wrong. Her mother was gone. She had died during her last year at the Academy. Grief overwhelmed her and she fell to her knees, when she realized it wasn't just chagrin that she was feeling but also physical pain. Her fingers were searing. She stared at the flames having appeared out of nowhere on her skin. She was dead too. Dead and in pain. She tried to scream but no sound came out.

"It's alright," somebody told her. "You're alright."

Her eyes opened to a world without pain, though her body felt inert. She blinked at the white and azure tones bathing her unfamiliar, high-tech surroundings.

"Dr. Marcus... ."

She recognized the voice. Dr. McCoy closed in on her bed, running a hand-held scanner over her face. "Carol, can you hear me alright? How are you feeling?"

It all came back to her, slamming into her mind with dizzying speed, and she began to panic. "The Augments... Ceti Alpha VI is going to explode... . There's a bomb... ."

"Take it easy," McCoy said glancing at the wide bio-monitor to her left in concern. "Nothing exploded. Last time we saw them, the Augments were all fine and dandy. From what Jim tells us, thanks to you, but you almost killed yourself in the process."

Almost. She should be dead. Even if the explosion inside the nacelle hadn't killed her, the structure would have broken apart, leaving her exposed to the lethal atmosphere of Ceti Alpha VI. "It was Khan," she murmured.

"Yeah," the man admitted grudgingly, pressing the scanner against the material of the hospital scrubs covering her collar bone. "I gave you a serum synthesized from his blood. But the transfusion took its toll one you. You were in a coma for two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Her eyes roved to the tall windows to her left, but they were barricaded by shades, making it impossible for her to see outside. "Where are we?"

"Starfleet Medical in San Francisco," the doctor said automatically, his focus on his scanner.

Earth. She was on Earth. It had to be the aftermath of her coma, but her mind was clouded and she just couldn't understand. How was she on Earth? Distantly she wondered if she was still dreaming. Or maybe she was still on Ceti Alpha VI, suffocating to death and hallucinating all this.

"How?"

The doctor looked at her then, a concerned frown marring his face. "Beats me. After he gave us the blood to save you and your vitals recovered, he just left. He didn't even ask to take you with him."

I cannot give you back your freedom, Carol. I need you as leverage.

Khan's words of some time ago rang in her ears. Had she outlived her usefulness to him, now that her father would lose his influential position? Or had he granted her freedom in exchange for her saving his family? Were they even now in his mind ? Had it all been just a game, like the countless matches of go and chess she had lost to him over the time? A game that he, always the master strategist, had won in the most complete and exquisite manner possible, depriving his enemy of his place in Starfleet and breaking his daughter's hear in one coup.

She forced her mind to the present. There was one other thing she needed to know. "My father? Is he okay?"

McCoy nodded grimly. "He is fine, but he will stand trial for treason. The communication log on board the Vengeance proves conclusively that he gave the coordinates of the Ceti Alpha system to the Klingons."

She said nothing. She had expected as much, just like she was expecting a cover-up, Starfleet brass to try and silence her about Section 31 and most of his father's transgressions to never make it to trial. It didn't matter. He would still spend the rest of his life in a penal colony and she would still feel tainted by association, wishing she could hide from anyone and everything.

"There is someone here to see you, if you're feeling up to it," McCoy said hesitatingly.

She told him she was, anticipating to see Christine Chapel or one of her old friends from back when she had been working at Starfleet Command. To her surprise the door parted to reveal Captain Kirk of all people, dressed impeccably in the formal Starfleet gray uniform.

"How are you feeling?" he asked with an encouraging smile.

"Weak," she said truthfully. She was also numb, as if the fire of the explosion she had been caught in had incinerated all of her nerves, leaving her deprived of feeling.

"Bones says you'll make a full recovery," Kirk assured her in a warm voice.

She didn't want to think of it, but the thought still slipped unbidden into her mind. Had he wondered if she would survive or was his confidence that every part of him was that much better so unshakable?

"Carol," Kirk started, advancing towards her bed, his smile still in place. "I know we didn't meet under the best of circumstances, but if you need anything, I'm there... . Bones, too."

As if on cue, the doctor rolled his eyes and turned to the working station in the far corner. Kirk ignored that reaction. "Just let us know," the captain finished, his miles growing impossibly brighter, lighting up his baby-blue eyes.

# # #

The skies above the majestic skyscrapers of San Francisco were the color of lapis lazuli. A balmy, salt-scented breeze enveloped the terrace Carol was on and caressed her face, gently ruffling her hair. Everything around her was so familiar, yet somehow so alien. It was everything she had thought she would never see again for over two years, everything she had been yearning for, yet now that she was there, she couldn't escape a strange sense of displacement. It was home and home felt wrong.

Maybe it was the consequence of what she had found out of Starfleet's dark secrets. She could not look at the paradise the Federation claimed to be, knowing the price its citizens secretly paid for it. She couldn't help but wonder if in some never to be visited corner of their minds, they all knew their perfect world didn't come free but were ignoring the voice of their conscience in favor of enjoying all the bright and shiny things they had. Nobody wanted structures like Section 31 to be real, but no one argued with the results they got, either.

The cover-up had enfolded much as she had anticipated. The captain's and communication log beamed by Khan from the Vengeance to the Enterprise had vanished, once Kirk had submitted his report, the only thing that had made it on record was her father's betrayal to the Klingons. The trial had taken place behind closed doors, its proceedings classified under the excuse of not affecting public moral in times of war. Carol herself had been granted special dispensation to assist at her own father's court-martial.

There was no paper trail leading to Section 31, no shred of evidence, nothing. Without any of those, the brief internal Starfleet investigation had concluded that no such organization existed and that Admiral Marcus had acted alone. While from a practical point of view, such development actually helped Carol, the idyllic view of her world had emerged even further bruised from the whole debacle. She was wryly grateful that everyone was in such a hurry to forget she had ever set foot in the Ceti Alpha system to question her much about her time with the Augments. She had no desire to elaborate on her relationship with Khan to some dispassionate bureaucrat, when even in the privacy of her own thoughts, she wasn't sure what had exactly happened between them. Or maybe that was one reality she just didn't want to face.

Her marriage to him was another topic nobody mentioned. It had happened under the cover of Section 31, with witnesses from within the secret agency, and so it appeared nowhere on record. She supposed that if she wanted to make noise about it having existed, she would have no problem in getting it annulled just so she could be kept quiet about it. Still she had said nothing, feeling uncharacteristically passive about it and all too willing to go with the flow on this one.

This desire for secrecy seemed to benefit everyone. From what she could piece together, Starfleet Command was very keen on acquiescing to Khan's demand they severed all ties and took to avoiding each other, just as long as the recent skeletons in their closet remained buried on Ceti Alpha V. If he were willing to leave them alone, they were game about returning the favor. It made for a happy, duplicitous family.

The silver lining in these bleak, pretense-ridden horizons came from one unexpected place. The senior staff of the Enterprise had been among the few Starfleet officers privy to her father's court case, given their direct involvement in the incidents. Through it all, Kirk had stood by her side, showing her a surprisingly silent yet unwavering support. Apparently, the youngest captain in Starfleet was a lot less unidimensional than his reputation indicated. But Kirk wasn't the only one. Doctor McCoy visited her much more often than medically necessary, his inquires about her well-being fraught with deeper meaning. Even Spock was less blunt with her than with other people and made sure he generally never saw her without the balancing and friendly company of Lieutenant Uhura.

Carol's appreciation of their generosity was magnified tenfold by the stilted awkwardness of her interactions with her father. She had been there for him through the duration of the trial, but there was little they had left to say to each other, while at the same time so many things went unmentioned. They were both too angry and too disappointed to ever be able to look each other in the eye again. She wondered if he hated her if only a little for the part she had played in his disgrace. In turn, she wondered if she should hate him as well if only a little.

"They came back," Kirk's voice called from behind her.

One other thing for which she was endlessly grateful to him was that he never pitied her. Even now, as their were about to return to the hall housing the special tribunal standing in judgment of her father to hear the verdict, his eyes and face held nothing but sincerity. She forced herself to give him a smile in spite of the cold shiver cursing through her. They stood in the bright light of a clear San Francisco morning just looking at each other for a second or so. The trial had been disastrous for her father and they both knew what was coming.

She nodded once, steeling herself against the inevitable. "I'm ready," she said simply.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: tissue warning!

# # #

"Admiral Alexander Marcus, it is the finding of this specially-convened tribunal that you are guilty of treason and colluding with the enemy in a time of war. You are hereby striped of your rank and expelled from Starfleet, your clearances and commendations being therefore revoked, and sentenced to life without parole. Your sentence will be executed in isolation in a high-security penal colony on the Australian continent. However, familiar visits will be permitted. Is there anything you wish to say at this moment?"

The former Commander-in-Chief of the Federation Starfleet glared at head-judge, Admiral Fitzgerald. "All I'm guilty of is trying to lead us to victory in a war against a brutal and efficient enemy with no qualms about destroying our entire way of life, perhaps even us as a species. You think Starfleet is about exploring? Let me tell you one thing, boldly going where no one has gone before can lead us to straight into the path of hostile and technologically-advanced alien races. Today it's the Klingons. Tomorrow it could be the Romulans. But what about the day after that? You don't want to militarize now? Fine! You'll end up having to do it one of these days, anyway!"

Carol wrapped her arms around her torso, as if struck by a sudden chill. Her father's words hurt almost on a physical level. He was remorseless and truly believed what he was saying. Maybe he was right, revolting as the notion was to everything the Federation stood for. Or maybe he was just that deluded. She didn't know what to think herself. Not anymore.

A light touch to her shoulder anchored her and she looked at Kirk to her right, taking in his worried expression. She shook her head at a loss. At least, the nightmare that had been her father's court-martial was over.

# # #

"Personally, I think the way you were abandoned on that forsaken planet with those people is an unprecedented blemish to Starfleet reputation and an insult to basic human decency," Admiral Pike said, rounding his desk, his pace stilted by his limp, yet his posture remaining dignified, to seat himself in his chair. He gestured she sat in one of the two chairs opposite from him. "Just in case nobody has done so before, I would like to extend to you both my own apologies and those on behalf of Starfleet Command," he added, the contrition written on his lined face nothing but genuine.

"Thank you, Sir," Carol responded. "But that wasn't necessary. You have done nothing yourself to contribute to all this."

Pike hesitated before his next words, his eyes assessing her carefully. "Needless, Starfleet has let you down, Dr. Marcus, and I have no intention to let it happen again. I called you here to let you know that your father's recent conviction need not impact on you in any way. In fact, if you want to resume your former position in Starfleet, I'd consider it an honor if you would let me sponsor your request and assist you in any way."

Carol swallowed hard. This was one option she had never even dared entertain in all the weeks gone by since her waking up from coma. She hadn't even wanted to hope they would take her back. But now here it was. Offered to her not only on a silver platter, but with Admiral Pike's heartfelt blessing. It felt like a balm after everything she had been through. But while a part at her longed to agree to the offer, she knew she could never look at Starfleet the same way again. Her illusions and ideals were gone, shipped off to Australia with her father, smothered by the poisoned atmosphere of Ceti Alpha VI and buried amongst the secrets of Ceti Alpha V. It wasn't that she had stopped believing in the principles animating the Federation altogether, but she had lost her trust in the people sworn to uphold them and utter ethical superiority of her world.

"Sir," she began, her voice almost faint. She cleared her throat emphatically before going on. "Please don't believe that I'm not grateful for this opportunity, but the truth is I haven't made any decision regarding my professional future yet."

Pike didn't seem all that surprised by her answer. "Take your time, Dr. Marcus. I just wanted you to know that this possibility is available to you. If you're not keen to return to your former position here at Starfleet Command, which under the circumstances, I can't say I don't understand, Captain Kirk on the Enterprise talked to me about needing a second Science Officer. I'm sure he would be glad to have someone with your kind of credentials on board."

She hid a smile, wondering if Jim requested Pike's help in getting her back in Starfleet in the first place. They had not talked about it per se, but he had dropped a few more or less subtle hints here and there. During the trial, she had flat out refused to think about it too much, not in the least worried about someone of her expertise finding work anywhere in the Federation. But in reality, she had considered a fresh starts away from Earth, if only for a while.

"I'm sure you've heard of the projected five-years mission. After all, it's been in the works forever but difficult to pull off with this war going on. But even this one won't last forever, so should this mission be given to the Enterprise, it could be a tremendous opportunity for you."

She nodded and thanked him again. "I'll think about it, Sir."

He leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile. "That's all I ask."

# # #

The Enterprise was beautiful. The dramatic situation that had brought her on board before had not allowed her to truly admire the newest ship in Starfleel, but now that she really looked at her, she had a better understanding of understated elegance of the vessel Kirk affectionately called "lovely lady". She had minimalistic-drawn lines engulfed in white, silver and bright tones of blue.

Carol looked at herself in the mirror her quarters as second Science Officer afforded. Between her recovery, her father's trial and the requisite evaluations before she was accepted back in Starfleet, her rank and security clearances restored, she had been on Earth for nearly three months, enough for the tan left on her skin by the merciless Ceti Alpha sun to fade. Her hair, which had grown to her mid-back in her time with the Augment colony, had been reduced to a more professional-looking chin-grazing bob. Her blue Starfleet uniform, the privilege of which had been restored to her a mere six days ago, still clung to her form in a way that was just short of off.

Overall, she looked like a different person, but most importantly, like she had never left and her two years on Ceti Alpha V had been nothing but a bad dream, from which she had recently just awoken. Everyone strove to forget their dealings with the Augments and what at first had felt like hypocrisy now started to seem more and more like a good idea. The Augments certainly had made no effort to remember her. Khan himself had abandoned her to the care of the Enterprise crew without a goodbye, discarded like the stake in yesterday's political game that she was.

She tried not to be bitter, though it was hard. But in the end, she only had herself to blame for any heart-ache. There weren't many way one could misconstrue what had taken place between her and Khan, especially not after his cool admission of trying to brainwash her into blind loyalty to him. Maybe her later genuine offer of help had moved them past that, but still, knowing him, how could she have ever deluded herself into thinking she had been more to him than a pleasant past-time during breaks from his arduous work? A hobby of some sorts or maybe a pet. Perhaps the latter explained his avowed fondness of her. It could also be that his tender admission had been a bone flung to the misguided, pathetic human woman, who thought herself important to the proud Augment prince.

She adjusted her uniform, though it hardly needed that and stepped away from the mirror. She fought with herself not to think of him or of the any of the connections she had forged with some of the Augments. Though she could not bring herself to suspect Kati of ulterior motives, it still chafed at her that none of them had left her with one measly farewell message communicated through Dr. McCoy. Perhaps the Augments wanted to forget as well and start anew, just like she was trying to do herself.

Perhaps she was being unfairly harsh to Khan. Maybe he saw his sending her home as payment for saving his family. She didn't know. All she had was maybe, perhaps and his silence. And her secrets. Her many secrets, which she had managed to keep even from the Starfleet counselors doing her psych eval. Even as one of those secrets involved a marriage she had yet to try and annul.

She looked outside her window to the metal infrastructure of the shipyard obscuring the immensity of space around them. Beyond the stars, far away, was he. She knew where, she could just go, but she didn't want to be a burden, not rejected, because he owned her a debt he could never return, or worse, be turned away a second time. She had no idea where such thoughts kept coming from. She wasn't even certain she would truly do something so insane. Besides, she should be happy. Everything she had seen as lost forever had been handed back to her.

While she did feel gratitude, she also found no solace in repeating herself her feelings for Khan were a by-product of her dependency on him and isolation. She even told herself they were monstrous, unseemly, given the man he was. And yet it was precisely because of who he was, that he could not just cast them away. No, dwelling would do her absolutely no good. Best to focus her mind elsewhere.

She moved to her monitor and checked the time. She still had a few good fifteen minutes before the start of her first shift aboard the Enterprise. In another hour the ship would be leaving the Sol system for one of the length patrols the war entailed. Before that she wanted to record a message to be sent to her father. Mending bridges would never be a possibility for them and if there were one person in the whole universe she could never tell about Khan, that was her only surviving parent. Still she refused to cut off any avenue of communication between them.

Hello, Dad, it's me... Carol. I'm back in Starfleet and I was just assigned as a second Science Officer to the Enterprise. Not your favorite ship, I know, and definitely not your favorite captain, bur for me it's a chance to start fresh... . We're going on a six-months deep space patrol mission and I don't know when I can send you another communique. But I couldn't leave without letting you know that while I'm not ready to forgive you just yet, I don't hate you. I never could... . Bye for now!

# # #

"Keptin on ze bridge," Chekhov cautioned in that adorable accent of him.

Carol turned from her work station, just as Kirk strolled in, his trademark cockiness obvious in his swagger, but the smile on his lips was less bravado and more real joy.

"It's hard to get out of it, once you've had a taste, isn't that right, Mr. Sulu?" Kirk teased his navigator.

The man jumped to his feet with a smile of his own. "Captain does have a nice ring to it," he admitted. Then he sobered up in an instant. "Chair's all yours, Sir." Respect vibrated in Sulu's voice and the lieutenant was reward with a warm look from Kirk, who did not immediately sit down, opting to briefly confer via comm with Mr. Scott about the functionality of the warp core.

Pleased that everything was top notch in Engineering, Kirk sauntered from the his chair's elevated place to where McCoy was standing not far away, the doctor's expression disgruntled in the extreme. The captain soundly clapped his friend on the shoulders. "Come one, Bones, it's gonna be fun."

"Bones" grimaced as if he had just eaten something rotten. "Back in space! God help me," the doctor muttered despairingly.

For the life of her, Carol could not imagine why McCoy of all people had gone for a career in Starfleet, regardless of how nasty his divorce had been. The man loathed space to a degree she had never encountered before him.

To her surprise Kirk walked up to her next, treating her to a wide grin. "Dr. Marcus," he addressed her, his tone gentle. "I'm glad you could be a part of the family," he added earnestly.

"It's nice to have a family," she confessed, her heart giving a helpless tug. She hoped she got to keep this one.

# # #

Carol's first shift aboard the USS Enterprise had consisted mainly of her familiarizing herself with her new position and equipment. It had been over before she knew it. She retreated to her quarters, but not before giving Nyota Uhura the promise of meeting her later in the mess for dinner and girl talk. She peeled her uniform off and washed the tiredness of the day in a sonic shower. Upon leaving her tiny bathroom, her gaze fell on the stack of books occupying the niche in the bulkhead that served as a nightstand.

They were paper books, the kind that had stopped being in the making well over a century ago. She had never been prone to the nostalgia that drove some to collect them. She saw them as artifacts of the past, better fit for museums, now that the entire literature ever produced in the Federation could be easily available on something as practical as a PADD. New information-storing technologies held much more appeal to her.

She had called herself every synonym for fool, as she had amassed those books back in San Francisco, but she had been unable to stop herself, driven by a compulsion she was still to afraid to examine too close. She trailed to her bed and sat on its edge, picking the thick one on top of the pile. Moby Dick, or the Whale. She had never been a fan of Herman Melville, either, finding his prose dry and unreasonably maudlin.

Khan had hit the roof, when she had shared that insight with him, and launched into a passionate defense of his favorite novel. He had even taken to reading excerpts from it to her to prove his point about its remarkable artistic value. Carol had encouraged that by attacking the book with a zeal she did not feel, just to get him to read to her some more in that thick baritone of his. If he had ever caught on the deception, he hadn't said anything.

Lost in the memory, she absently stroked her fingers on the fake leather cover before cracking the book open. Call me Ishmael... .

~ the end ~

A/N: to be continued in _To Give Up a Human Heart_


End file.
